Western Sky
by Ladyaces26
Summary: The sequel of East Side Story.Seth and Alli are facing a new threat. Their family? Sam has the elders revising the treaty this time without Jake's pack.Camilla can barely look at Alli. Will Leah replace her? Alli and Leah must save their home now or never
1. Return to the land of tears

The New Delta

ALIIPOV

It's been three months since the Madrisee attempted to kidnap my sister. I'm not going to pretend things are perfect because they're not. Camilla can barely look at me without wincing. She can't be swayed to leave Quil's side and she's down right terrified. My life has been turned upside down and inside out. Seth won't let me out of his sight. He has a hand attached to me at all times. Most of the time it's hanging off my hip or laced through my hair soothingly. Eventually it started to bother me and I told him I would bite it off. He laughed and told me he would have only one hand to serve me with. That made me laugh and place his hand on my hip again. Seth1: Alli-3

Sam's pack has been on our case for the longest while. A bunch of new wolves had phased for the first time. They immediately were placed into Sam's pack by the elders. Billy and Sue were kicked off the council a week before this decision. I have my suspicions that the old bastards knew about the new wolves and did this on purpose. The tension between the two packs had become so deep lately. Jake has had his hands full lately because the Cullen's may need to leave soon. He doesn't have the time to talk to Sam about his little monsters vandalizing Makah property. He mostly leaves it up to me and Leah. It's strange that he would name me his delta. Now I'm third in command. The Cullen's and the pack were so proud of me but I was hesitant to accept because this was my former position in Madrisee. Seth and I had a long a discussion and he helped me come to terms with this. He has been my angel.

ALLIPOV

My face lit up as Seth and I walked through the front door of my- I mean, our house. My beautiful pure black, Italian sports car, was sitting in the drive way. Seth had moved in to my house last month. Cam moved in at Quil's house and Embry moved out of Quil's and his house, and into Leah's. Which Seth left to live with me. It hurt a little seeing my sister move out. We lived together ever since our Dad's died. Now Seth and I are dating officially. He's so romantic. Cam was a bit jealous because Quil isn't as romantic as Seth.

She and I speak but not like we used to. She's so quiet. She looks at me differently. It's not the loving gaze she used to give me, but a lost look. I can tell she still loves me but now she looks at me like I'm a monster. My twin hates me.

Seth looked at me curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied. He narrowed his eyes and stopped walking. We were just a foot from the car now.

"Please don't lie to me," He begged. He placed his hands on my hips and looked at me with his huge brown eyes. My heart broke.

"It's nothing," I insisted quietly. I looked away from him.

"It's Cam isn't it?," he asked solemnly. He positioned my head so I couldn't look away again. I nodded and let my head fall against his chest. He engulfed me in a hug.

"She's just scared, honey. She still loves you," he said calmly while soothingly rubbing my back.

"In my mind I know she loves me. But I still think she hates me because I'm a monster." I sobbed. He held me at arms length and looked at me seriously.

"Alli, do you think I'm a monster?", He asked seriously.

"No." I answered immediately.

"Then how can you call yourself a monster? That's like calling Jake and Embry and even me a monster. We're all the same species."

"No but Leah might be." I smirked teasingly. He laughed loudly and hugged me again.

"Ready to go?", he asked sweetly. I nodded and smiled before gently placing my lips to his quickly. Then I ran to the car before he could catch me.

Seth growled and ran after me. He chased me around the car before he threw his hands up in surrender. I cautiously walked to his side of the car. His mischievous expression returned quickly and he grabbed my waist before I could react. He and I tumbled onto the lawn and he ticked me mercilessly.

We made it to the meeting at the Cullen's an hour later. We barged through the front door and walked into the living room. I jumped over the couch and landed comfortably on an open cushion. Seth did the same but pulled me onto his lap. Jake shot us daggers from his position next to Carlisle across the room. I grinned cheekily and waved at him brightly.

"You two are an hour late." He half scolded. Seth and I glanced at each other. We spent an hour in the drive way tickling each other. We burst out laughing.

"We know," Seth laughed, "Sorry. We got held up at the house."

"More like on the lawn," Edward smirked at us. I flipped him the bird

Emmett began to laugh, "You kids don't waste any time do you?"

Seth reached behind us and chucked a pillow at him. He dodged quickly and continued to laugh.

"That's not what happened, you perv." I growled. Emmett began to laugh louder.

"So little Seth still isn't getting any?" his laughter was beginning to annoy me. Seth shifted slightly under me. Leah cleared her throat loudly.

"No comment," I sighed, "Continue with the meeting."

Edward you old bastard. That's right. I called you old. Old man. Nessie's going to have to deal with a fire starter someday. Poor Jake.

Edward's smirk faded and he hissed at my thought. My smirk broadened.

I took Jake's momentary distraction as a chance to look around. Beside us on the couch was Embry. Leah was perched on his lap with her eyes glued to Carlisle as he spoke. Cam was sitting in an arm chair with Quil sitting with his back leaned against the front of the chair. Cam's legs were propped up on his shoulders. Jasper was leaning against the wall casually. Esme and Carlisle sat on the other couch next to Jake and Nessie. Edward and Bella were seated on the floor beside Rosalie and Emmett. Alice was sitting beside Seth's legs on the floor.

I'm surprised Cam showed. She doesn't phase anymore and hardly wants anything to do with the pack other than Quil. I can't help but fell a bit of resentment towards her. She can't even look me in the eye but she can act perfectly fine around everyone else.

OOF! A large pillow slammed into my face. Feathers were flying everywhere.

"Alli are you listening?" Jake sighed exasperatedly. He ran a hand through his short cropped hair nervously. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What are you keeping from me?" I snarled. He straightened his back slightly and looked me in the eye nervously.

"Don't play games with me, princess. Spit it out." I snarled again.

"Sam is getting the remaining elders scared. They're determining whether or not to revise the treaty with the Cullen's. This time they may banish us from La Push."

I glanced around ridiculously, "Is that supposed to upset me?"

Jake gave me a long hard look, "Alli you realize your leaving your house right?"

I rolled my eyes, "Duh, princess. I never really wanted to live in La Push. Camilla made me so we could graduate with Embry, but we've done that now. So who cares?"

Camilla stared at me, "Alli your leaving your dad's house. Doesn't that phase you at all?'

I ignored her completely. I'm not saying a word to her. If she can be mortally terrified then I can be childish. Everyone was waiting for my answer but I examined my nails instead. My black nails had an interesting red tint to them.

"Alli," Jake prompted carefully. I turned my head in his direction with an oblivious look on my face.

"What?" I asked monotonously. Rose smirked at me and winked at me. she taught me how to do this.

"What's your answer?" he said even slower. I narrowed my eyes at him. I'm not retarded.

"To what question?" I said slower than he did. Rose was bighting back a smirk now.

"Doesn't leaving your dad's house phase you?" he said impatiently.

"Are you kidding? Not at all!," I scoffed, "I wanted to sell that house and many other things but I didn't because of Camilla."

Camilla was biting her lip angrily. Leah had a tiny smirk on her and Rose was fighting a burst of laughs. Everyone else was looking at me with looks of anger and curiosity.

"Alli," Jake sighed, "I know your angry at your sister but can we have an effective meeting please. Does anyone have a suggestion about what to do."

"Send Alli to negotiate with Sam," Edward cried immediately. everyone turned and gave him ludicrous stares. My self included.

"She has the potential to do it," he defended, "You should see the negotiations she's been through. She has charisma to rival Ronald Regan."

Carlisle gave him a long and thoughtful look. "Are you sure Edward?"

Edward nodded at him solemnly. How the bloody hell am I supposed to negotiate with Sam? They should send Leah sooner than me! Fucking mind reading leech!

"You can do it Alli. Leah will be your back up." Edward said with a quick glance in my direction.

Leah's back tensed. Her eyes narrowed into slits and she glared daggers at Edward. this was the complete opposite of my reaction. My eyes popped open and I stared at him in disbelief. I would have slid off the couch had Seth not been holding my waist tightly.

"I was joking! Are you fucking crazy!" I practically yelled. "Leah and I will end up strangling the guy!"

"She's right," Leah said mimicking my tone to perfection, "I'll rip his balls off and Alli will probably help!"

Jake turned to us and gave us his best fatherly look, "I think you two can do this. It's obvious that you bare a hate for Sam but this is your family your fighting for. You can do this."

Leah and I sobered instantly. I sighed in defeat and met Leah's eyes.

"Fine," we said in unison. Camilla took in a sharp breath. Yeah, I hope you feel horribly jealous. Evil little-

Edward cleared his throat loudly and looked at me sharply. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off. Here goes nothing.


	2. Fallen Empire

ALLIPOV

Jake has been trying to get us to tell him what we'll say to Sam for an hour now. He and Leah had a silent stare down that was broken when she suddenly slapped him with a large pillow. Princess practically had an aneurysm.

"Come on.," Jake begged, "Just how you'll greet him?"

Leah rolled her eyes and crossed her legs. I huffed loudly and crossed my arms over my chest. Embry moved to stand in front of Leah. He gave a hard glare and crossed his arms.

"I'll hide the dress Alli gave you." he hissed quietly. Leah's back tensed.

Leah and I went shopping and I bought her a gorgeous white dress that fit her like a glove. She instantly became infatuated with it when I gave it to her.

"You wouldn't." she hissed back angrily. He nodded yes and smirked at her. She shook her head no and looked away pointedly. Embry sighed angrily and ran a hand through his short dark hair.

Seth stood in front of me and gave me a stony glare. His face was perfectly smooth and void of all emotion.

"I'll kill Giovanni." He said smoothly. My eyes bugged out and my breathing hitched.

Giovanni is my Italian sports car. He's pure black and has blood red interior. He has a mood sensing music changer. He plays music based on my mood. I might love him more than Seth. Giovanni has been making Seth jealous a lot lately.

"You wouldn't?" I asked tearfully. Seth nodded. I wailed loudly and was engulfed in a hug by Leah. She shushed me quietly and glared at Seth.

"That was too far you idiot." She barked at him. Seth's expression changed to the most pained expression I've ever seen him wear. He held out his arms for me and Leah nudged me forward slightly. I glared at him and moved away from his awaiting arms. He winced slightly and crushed my heart. He sat down on the floor beside my legs and placed his chin on my knees.

"I'm sorry," he whispered quietly. I smiled weakly and ran my fingers through his dark hair. His smooth hair ran through my fingers with a quiet swoosh. He knew he was forgiven and smiled brightly at me. I instantly smiled brightly to match his.

"Come on you guys," Jake whined, "Just tell us already."

"Leave them alone Jake," Seth defended hotly, "They know what they're doing."

Jake rolled his eyes at Seth and muttered something like 'lovesick puppy'. Seth grinned brightly and kissed my knees. I laughed and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. Leah wretched beside us. I rolled my eyes and flicked her nose. I glanced at my watch.

"It's almost six. Emily will be serving dinner," I looked at Leah, "We should get going."

Leah nodded solemnly and stood up. She kissed Embry's cheek and ruffled Seth's hair. He scowled at her but let her kiss his cheek. I smiled at her and moved to get up. Seth stood with me and I kissed him softly. I hugged Embry and ruffled Jake's hair. Leah and I yelled good bye to everyone else and ran out the front door.

We were at Sam's house in ten minutes. Leah sighed and nodded at me. We linked arms together and walked up to the back door. Leah knocked politely and waited until Emily opened it.

"Hello girls," Emily smiled nervously, "Come in."

We said hello and stepped inside. The scent of food assaulted our noses. Half of Sam's pack was strewn about the kitchen. Each with a plate of food or an imprint. Leah and I smiled at them. Sam stood up and shook our hands curiously.

"Let's talk in the living room." he lead us to the living room and sat down in an old arm chair.

"Jake sent us to talk with you." Leah started nervously.

"Yes." I said with a pointed look to Leah, "We don't appreciate being pushed from our homes."

"These homes are for those of my tribe who are honorable enough to protect this tribe." Sam smirked.

"We protect this tribe as much as you do." I bit acidic like.

"How?" he said arching an eyebrow.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "We defeat most vampires before they can slip through your patrols."

"Are you suggesting that my wolves don't patrol properly?" he asked hotly.

"Yes. My example, Victoria." I sneered.

"She was particularly good at sneaking around." he responded angrily.

"Then I suppose you still don't know how she did it?" I sighed with a smirk. Leah sat beside me with a large smile plastered to her face.

Sam flushed, "No."

I sighed feigning being irritaded, "She slipped through the network of streams and rivers. The only reason she came up was to feed. She played you with your own treaty by skipping around along the boarder."

Sam remained silent. His eyes adverted from mine as he stared at the floor. I smirked and fist bumped Leah.

"Look Sam," I started, "all we want is to continue living on La Push in peace. We're not asking you to pledge alligence to the Cullen's. We just want to keep the treaty in tact. We won't bother you if you don't bother us."

"But don't you see!" He cried leaping up, "If we keep letting them stay here, they won't see us as a threat! They will start hunting on our lands! They could kill our people!"

I stared at him in disbelif. "Are you fucking crazy?" I shrieked.

"NO! I see the bigger picture that Jacob Black," he spat Jake's name, "is blind too!"

"You are insane! The Cullen's have given you no reason not to trust them! I will represent them at this trail. When is it?" I snarled.

Sam flinched at my order. He tried to deny it.

"When is the trial?" I demanded a bit harsher.

"Next Saturday at dusk." he whispered. I smiled in satisfaction.

"We'll see you there." I motioned for Leah to follow me and we left the house.

Leah paused at edge of the woods and shook me by my shoulders roughly.

"Do you know what you just did?" she demanded. I shook my head no.

"You just overrode an Alpha. You commanded him. You are of higher power than he is." she reeled crazily.

My eyes popped open and I sucked in a huge breath. I just became the alpha of the La Push pack. Oh. My. God.

SETHPOV

I was pacing the floor in the Cullen's living room. It's been alomst an hour and they haven't returned yet. Jake, Embry and Quil have been chewing their finger nails off. Camilla is running around the house in confusion. Edward, Carlisle and Jasper have been going over battle plans. Rosalie, Nessie and Esme are giving Bella a makeover but they keep starting over because they twitch every time they hear something startling. Emmett is running around making startling sounds and Alice is giving herself a headache trying to see what's happening.

Where the hell are they? Jasper's got the place tensed up like a spring. I strained my ears to hear them . They were so far away. Edward's head snapped up and he announced they're coming. I could hear them coming closer and we all ran to the door to meet them. We couldn't hear them anymore.

"What's everyone doing?" Leah asked from behind us.

"Waiting for Leah and Alli." Embry snapped without tearing his gaze from the door. I turned to face Leah and Alli and they rolled tier eyes simultaneously.

I ran forward and Engulfed Alli in a bone crushing hug. She laughed brightly and flung her arms around my neck. I inhaled her sweet tropical scent. It was mouthwatering. We broke apart and followed everyone back to the living room. We all took our positions. Leah began anxiously,

"She overrode Sam!" she exclaimed.

"Elaborate?" Jake asked. Edward's jaw was already on the floor as he stared between Leah and Alli.

"She ordered Sam to tell her when the trial was and he obeyed." Leah shrieked.

Jake's jaw fell beside Edward's. He struggled to find words.

'Alli! Do you know what this means?" he exclaimed. Alli rolled her eyes.

"No. Please explain princess." she said sarcastically.

"You know what this means!" he accused.

"Jake would you mind telling us what this means?" Bella cried impatiently.

"Alli is the new alpha of La Push!" He shrieked happily.

We all jumped up and cheered loudly. Everyone was yelling and hugging each other. I reached forward and hugged Alli again. She laughed in my ear over the loud noises. Alice and Emmett danced in the middle of the room. Embry and Leah were jumping up and down on the couch.

"All I have to do is command them to obey Jake! Then we can live peacefully!" Alli cried happily.

The room froze. No one moved a muscle. She was giving up her position for Jake. For someone whom she barely knows. Is she crazy?

Jake began shakily, "Alli, don't you want to lead?"

Everyone attached their eyes to her. Edward gazed at her with a look of grim understanding. What I wouldn't give to read _his _mind right now. Alli looked around once and looked at us as if we were insane.

"I can't lead! I can barely control myself, let alone a tribe and pack." She protested.

"How does Alli have more power over Sam?" Carlisle said thoughtfully.

"She must have some relation to Jake. But her birth father is unknown." Edward said before Alli could open her mouth. She glared at him angrily. Everyone's eyes went from Edward and snapped back to her nervous face.

"There's a reason we didn't tell you about that," Camilla explained slowly. Her light brown eyes never left the ground as she spoke.

"It's possible that Embry is more than a cousin," Alli paused to take a deep breath, "He could be our half brother."

My jaw hit the floor along with everyone else's. How could she keep this from me. I suppose that it was difficult for her to talk about.

Alli and Cam drew together like they had a magnetic force pulling them together. They gave each other a long look. Neither face gave way to any emotion. They seemed to understand what each other was trying to convey because Alli gave Camilla a quick nod. They linked arms and they're eyes began to flitter around the room like a radar. They caught the expressions of every person. Alli's eyes rested on each person for about three seconds but she hadn't looked at me yet. Her eyes rested on Embry for half a minute. Then they looked at me. Her deep brown eyes gazed at me with a sadness and I longed to reach out and touch the long strands of hair cascading from the sides of her face.

"We need to talk about this to Embry." Cam ordered. Not a single person moved.

"Alone!" Alli barked angrily. I ran from the room with everyone else.

We ran outside and into the forest. Quil walked over to me and gave me the same look I gave him. What the hell just happened?

ALLIPOV

Embry was sitting on the couch with his hands held in his hands. My heart lurched for my cous-brother. Camilla gave me the saddest pout ever and we walked over to him. I sat on his right and Camilla on his left. I rested my head in the crook of his neck and nudged him with my elbow gently. Camilla took his hands and lifted his head.

"Embry," Camilla sighed.

"We weren't going to tell you right away but-"I started.

"Things have changed," she continued.

"Gears are set in motion-"

"That we can't control." she finished.

"We were planning to tell you after we were reconnected."

"Like our family used to be." Camilla sighed sadly.

"but then we saw how happy you were-"

"Without knowing so-"

"We decided not to tell you."

"But now we-"

"Need to tell you everything."

"About us and-"

"You." we finished together. Embry nodded and leaned back pulling us both to rest our heads on his chest. I've always wanted a big brother who would be just like Embry.

"Your mother didn't just get pregnant during some random fling." Camilla started.

"She was raped. We know because Aunt Coraline told us."

"They were as tight as we were."

"She moved here hoping to guilt her attacker into confession."

"But her plan failed miserably."

"We still don't know who her attacker was-"

"We never found out from Aunt Coraline."

"Even she wouldn't say."

"Your mother brought with her few things."

"One of which was a person."

"Our mother." Cam said monotonously.

"She was trying to help your mom."

"Aunt Coraline was already married and had moved out of state.'

"Her attacker saw them and attacked our mother." I said sadly.

"She got pregnant with us and you were born a couple of months before she got pregnant."

"We were born here, about a month before your first birthday."

"So don't forget our birthday," I said awkwardly attempting a joke. It failed miserably because the both shot me looks of disdain. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"Our mother died giving birth-" Cam began again.

"So your mom was left with the three of us."

"she couldn't keep all of us so Aunt Coraline adopted us.'

"She couldn't keep both of us so-"

"Her brother-in-law adopted Alli."

"We spent most all of our summer vacations here, in our birth place, for seven years."

"Less than a month after we came back-"

"Our dads died. Renata took her money and left for Paris two days after."

"Cam's mom died eight years after."

"We were only fifteen."

"We pretty much raised ourselves and each other after that.'

Camilla sighed, "Then we decided to live on Uncle Monty's old reservation."

"I phased for the fist time there."

"The Madrisee helped Alli control herself and her powers."

She sighed again, "Then I decided I wanted to graduate with my possible brother."

"The Madrisee didn't want me to leave."

"It took us months to get clearance to come."

"I didn't want to come here but I wanted to leave so badly, I would go anywhere."

"We finally got to come and then Alli phased."

"We knew we weren't Madrisee when I saw the similarities between Jake and Alli."

"We have the same color fur. We had to be related in some way."

Jake burst through the front door and raced to us. I jumped back at his outraged expression. Embry tensed and pulled us close to him.

"Are you suggesting that MY father raped your parents?" he boomed.

Camilla's heart rate picked up and I narrowed my eyes at him. Embry began to squeeze my shoulder painfully.

"We didn't say that Jake." I defended.

"You implied that!" he shouted. A shiver ran through his body.

"That's not what they meant Jake!" Embry argued. His grip was becoming more and more painful.

"YES IT IS!" Jake phased and launched himself at us. I rolled out of the way and phased.

"_JAKE!" I screamed at him in my mind. Camilla and Embry had phased and were charging him from both sides. I pictured Nessie. I pictured her little bronze ringlets bouncing as she ran down the stairs to meet Jake. Jake froze instantly and reveled in the memory. _

"_That's better," Sighed Camilla happily. Embry nodded at her and thought about Leah. Him and Leah on the beach. Him and Leah in Port Angeles. Him and Leah kissing on the back seat of his car. Cam and I screeched mentally. _

"_Ewe," I thought at him. He grinned at me. Jake was lying on the Cullen's carpet with his paws over his head. _

"_What have I done?," He moaned to himself._

_I trotted over to Jake and nudged him with my paw. He looked up at me and began shouting apologies in his head. I rolled my eyes at him._

_"It's okay Jake," Camilla consoled._

_"I would have tried to kill you too." I laughed. Camilla and Embry shot me withering looks. He made a mistake big deal. _

_"I'm surprised our imprints haven't come in yet." Camilla sighed. She really does love Quil._

_I shrugged a little and trotted up the stairs to Alice's room. Cam followed after me. She knew what I was thinking._

_"Hey Edward, could you send Alice in?" I asked mentally. Two seconds later Alice was standing in front of her door. She grinned brightly and opened the door to her midnight blue room. We followed after her curiously. _

_"Are you as scared as I am?" Camilla almost whispered to me. I rolled my eyes._

_"She can't hear you."_

_'I always thought that Alice was the scariest Cullen." She laughed. I laughed too causing Alice to stare at us._

_"Here," Alice said opening the door to her bathroom, "Go phase back. I left some clothes on the hook for you."_


	3. New beginnings and goobyes

**(A/N): Sorry, sorry, sorry. I apologize deeply for my HUGE delay in updating. Forgive me? I'll give you a cookie? Thank you...Can I have some reviews please? That would make me smile:)**

**ALLIPOV**

Seth and I were late to the pre-meeting meeting. As usual. Jake had decided that it would be best to meet at the Cullen's before we actually went to Sam's house. I bolted into the porcelain palace with Seth hot my heels. Everyone was seated and waiting for us. As usual. Mostly everyone gave us annoyed looks. As usual. I smiled apologetically.

"What's your excuse this time?" Jake sighed. I skipped over to Leah and plopped down next to her the couch.

"I didn't even try to come up with one," I said honestly. My eyes were trained on Seth as he walked in and sat next to Emmett.

"Can you at least look at me when your speaking?," he snapped angrily.

My eyes jumped to his face in surprise. Jake was normally pretty cool about things. The stress must be getting to him. I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Sorry," he muttered, "I'm a bit stressed."

"Damn," I swore under my breath. I should have bet Leah on that.

"What?" he questioned.

Edward smirked a bit, "She thinks she should have bet Leah on what your excuse would have been."

I squared him with my eyes. Burst into flames. Burst into FLAMES. BURST INTO FLAMES. His smirk widened and he turned to nuzzle Bella. Eww, that's gross.

"Anyway," Jake said pointedly, "Once Alli renounces her membership in this pack, she will have to stay and talk with her new pack. The rest of us will come back here and-"

"I object!" Seth declared. He sprung up from his seat and held a fist high in the air as if to prove his point. Leah and I arched an eyebrow at each other and then shrugged before turning back to the unfolding scene.

"On what grounds?" Jake asked amusedly. Seth rolled his eyes and lowered his arm.

"I'm staying with Alli," he declared protectively.

"No your not," I said insolently.

"Yes I am," he said boldly.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.

"Babe, I appreciate the urge to protect me," I said irritably, " But I don't need you to hold my hand through this. I can handle it."

"I want to be there to be sure you can," He said defiantly.

"I do not need you there to do that ,darling," I snarled angrily.

"Yes do, honey," He hissed just as angrily.

"No, love," I shot.

"Yes, sweetie," he retaliated.

"No, cutie."

"Yes, sugar plum."

"No, dearest."

"Yes, gum drop."

"No, muffin."

"Yes-"

"Alright!" Alice shrieked, "We get you love each other ,but your angry!"

"I win," I sang under my breath.

"No you didn't," Seth hissed at me.

"Yes I did!"

"No you-"

"Not again!" Camilla declared.

"So as you were saying Jake," Esme said motioning for him to continue.

Jake cleared his throat and began again, "As I was saying, _all _of us will return here. All except for Alli who will meet with her new pack."

I smirked at Seth triumphantly. He crossed his arms and began swearing under his breath.

"Stop worrying," I muttered to him, "Have a little faith in me."

"It's not that I don't trust you," He muttered back quietly.

"Then what is it?"

"I don't trust them," he said angrily.

"I can handle it okay," I assured him.

He went back to muttering profanities under his breath darkly. I rolled at my eyes at his overprotective, but I was still touched that he cared so much for me.

"Awe," Edward sighed sarcastically. I growled at him.

"Any questions?" Jake asked irritably. No one said a word.

"Okay then. Might as well start saying our goodbyes then," Jake said gruffly.

I stood up only to be thrown back by Alice's hug. She knocked me back into the couch and practically strangled me. When she finally let go Esme stepped forward with Carlisle. They both gave me quick a silent hugs. If Alice's hug was the choke-hold then Emmett's was the bone- crusher. Rosalie nodded at me in what I assumed was a warm manner. Edward shook my hand and Bella hugged me kindly. Renesme hugged me tightly, but quickly. Jasper shook my hand and gave me a wave of reassurance. I was grateful for that. Quil hugged me quickly but Cam hung onto me for what seemed like hours.

"What are you hugging me for?" I laughed, "I'll see you next Thursday on your birthday!"

"You remembered!" she shrieked happily. Apparently this was the wrong thing to say because she clung onto me tighter.

"How was I supposed to forget?" I asked incredulously, "Mine is the next day."

Embry hugged me tightly and reminded me to be good. Leah embraced me kindly.

"Please don't leave me with these freaks." she begged sarcastically.

There was an uproar at this and I laughed in a bittersweet kind of way.

Seth grabbed me in his arms and held me to his chest tightly. He clung to me like he would never see me again.

"Seth," I said softly. He ignored me.

"Honey," I said a bit louder.

"SETH," I yelled. His head snapped down and he looked at me intently.

"I won't be gone long. I'll see you at home for dinner in about an hour and a half." I clarified. The realization dawned on him quickly and he set me down gently. I laughed loudly and broke the sober silence. I waved goodbye to the Cullen family and walked away.

The trees seemed to be beckoning there daughter back to them. The birds sang slow soothing melodies as if they were saluting the moon and waving goodbye to the sun. The forest's quiet sound lulled me toward it. A babbling brook hundreds of feet away was rushing along. An unidentified animal snapped the braches that made the soft carpet inside. Long towering braches slapped together as if clapping to a secret rhythm. Alright, your daughter is returning. I'm on my way.

I phased hurriedly and darted though the trees quickly. The sun was setting in the western sky and west was exactly where I was heading. I ran faster and faster until the forest faded into a blur. Jake's pack was long behind me. Seth was howling for me to slow down, but I couldn't stop. I had to keep going and strangely that didn't scare me. I just kept going. It felt far too amazing to slow down. I felt as if my legs could never tire and I was going to take advantage of that.

Sam's little red house came into my view far before I wanted it to. I suppressed a frown and phased back. I pulled on a red cotton dress. It was a bit on the short side, but served it's purpose none the less. I waited in the tree line until a sandy wolf came up beside me. Seth brushed his fur against my legs and went further into the trees to phase back. He returned in a nanosecond with a pair of jeans on.

He slipped his hand into mine and gently kissed my cheek then we steeped out into the weak light of twilight.


	4. Mexican Succession

ALLIPOV

Seth stopped just outside the woods. He knew he couldn't come inside with me. He turned to me and kissed my cheek gently. I squeezed his hand and smiled nervously. He turned away to go back into the woods. The rest of Jake's pack would be waiting in the woods for my 'help' howl or 'peace' howl. Hopefully, there would only be a peace howl.

The little red house would have seemed like a peaceful place to be on any other day. Today it only seemed scary. I walked to the door in a slow, but steady pace. There were a few quiet voices speaking quickly inside. I gently knocked on the door. The voices stopped. There was a small pause until I heard the pitter patter of footsteps. Emily opened the door with a pained and forced smile. I couldn't blame her for having to fake a smile. I was unhappy to see her too.

None the less, I forced a smile and quiet hello. Emily gestured me inside the cramped kitchen. Sam's pack was crowded into the tiny space.

"Hello?," I asked unsurely. I gave a tiny smile too. No one said anything. All I got were ice cold glares.

"Ouch," I muttered. That brought a few smirks. So they could be swayed to my side. That brought a smirk of my own.

"Nice to see that your not deaf," I smirked. The smirks dropped instantly. I smirked wider and flounced further into the kitchen. I dropped down into a chair next to Collin. He looked positively terrified. I turned to give him an amused look.

"How you doing?" I asked amusedly. The poor kid looked like he was going to piss himself. I laughed hollowly and then turned my gaze to Sam. He began to speak again.

"Your not welcome here Allison," he sneered angrily.

"Glad to see your so impartial and welcoming," I snorted sarcastically. I stood up and began to pace slowly.

"Those are the signs of a great leader you know," I said wisely.

"Yes," he said sarcastically, "Forgetting your duty and welcoming the enemies is how a leader should act."

"A true leader would leave their mind open to the possibility that your enemies could be your greatest ally," I hissed angrily.

"OR," he huffed as he rose from his chair, "they could be traitorous and stab you in the back just as soon as you give them leeway."

"OR, they could help you in times of great need." I countered.

"You can't honestly believe that those- those- monsters, wouldn't try to kill us?" He asked incredulously.

"Are we any more monstrous than they are?' I asked nodding to Emily. Sam stilled. The silent crowd grew stiff.

"That was an accident," he replied stiffly, "They have no control over-"

"They have more control than we do apparently." I muttered quietly under my breath. Paul growled at me.

"WE can gain the control needed. They can't control their bloodlust." Sam hissed.

"The Cullen's don't just attack every human they see!" I exclaimed.

"Not that you know of," Sam said cockily.

I narrowed my eyes menacingly, "And I suppose you have evidence to support this theory?"

He clenched his jaw shut and he chilled instantly. I smirked in victory.

"We're extremely dangerous ,too," I reasoned "If we can't trust them to have control why should we trust anyone? Including ourselves."

Sam's face spased in pain. I was playing his weakness and it was working. I really didn't think it would work this well.

"Just let Jake's pack stay at their homes. You don't need to force them from their homes and families because of your irrational fears."

"You said Jake's pack?," Jared questioned nervously.

"Yeah," I muttered awkwardly, "It's been decided that I'm to lead the La Push pack."

"WHAT?" nearly everyone screamed.

"THERE ISN'T A CHANCE IN HELL!" Paul roared. There were several reactions that were similar. It was a good ten minutes until Sam spoke rationally.

"We won't let you take my pack." he hissed.

"I really don't think you have a choice," I insisted boldly.

"We won't take orders from you," Jared barked.

I turned to him and arched an eyebrow. He gulped nervously.

"Ten push-ups," I whispered to him quietly. He almost moved. He twitched slightly and looked a the clear space on the floor in front of him. Then his eyes darted back to mine.

"Now," I snapped loudly. He darted down to the floor and began exercising. He glared at me icily as he moved. I began to laugh at his anger.

"So," I started casually, "It's safe to assume that I'm going to take the alpha position. As for my beta?"

I looked around the room. None of these people would be open to my leadership.

"I choose Brady to be my beta. Will you accept?" I asked him.

There was a round of laughs at this. Idiots, that would just make him want to be the beta more.

"ME?," he asked unsurely.

"Yep," I answered positively. The kid mirrored Collin's frightened expression from earlier.

"You can't be serious?" Sam laughed.

"What?" I asked incredulously, "You don't think he could do it?"

"He's just a kid!," Sam said a bit more seriously.

"And your just a plain fool," I smirked, 'We've got to start somewhere."

"What do you say kid?", I asked.

"I'll do it," He said boldly.

We shook hands and smiled at each other. This is going better than I thought. This just might be a good plan. They like me! They really like me! I'm just joking. They hate me.

"Okay, so the first shift-" I began until I was interrupted by Sam.

"We already have our shifts made up," Sam snapped.

"Well, I'm remaking them," I snapped back.

"As, I was saying," I said pointedly, "Let me write this down."

I snatched a pad of paper and pen off the kitchen table. I sat down and thought for a moment and then began to scribble.

Shift One: 12 a.m.- 3 a.m.

Monday-Friday: Allie and Jared

Saturday-Sunday: Sam and Brady

Shift Two: 3 a.m.-6 a.m.

Monday-Friday: Paul and Allie

Saturday-Sunday: Collin and Jared

ONE HOUR BREAK

Shift Three: 7a.m.-11a.m.

During Week Days- Jared

During Weekends- Sam

THREE HOUR BREAK

Shift Four: 2 p.m.- 5 p.m.

Monday-Friday: Allie and Collin

Saturday-Sunday: Jared and Brady

Shift Five: 5p.m.- 9 p.m.

Monday-Friday: Collin and Brady

Saturday-Sunday: Allie and Paul

Shift Six: 9p.m.-11p.m.

Monday-Friday: Paul and Sam

Saturday-Sunday: Sam

Shift Seven: 11p.m.-12a.m.

Monday-Friday: Jared

Saturday-Sunday: Collin and Brady

I straightened up and examined my hard work. It seemed pretty fair. Everyone had about four shifts in all. I stood up and went to what seemed to be the head of the room. All of the eyes followed me naturally. I held up the schedule and explained it carefully.

"Any questions?," I asked. Jared's hand flew into the air.

"Jared?," I called.

"Can I switch shift seven with Paul?," Jared questioned.

"If it's fine with him," I said nonchalantly.

"No," Paul growled. I raised my eyebrows but ignored it.

"Okay, if that's all," I trailed off, "Kim would you mind helping me make more copies of this?"

"Sure," She agreed and reached for the pad of paper. I handed it to her and let her get to work.

"So guys, when you start your shift meet at the cliffs and end at the cliffs. Work your way to the border and back. Make sure that the next team is already phased before you shift back." I clarified.

The silence hung thick in the air. It was evident that no one was going to say anything to me.

"I know that you don't love this situation," I paused," But I don't like it either. I'm dealing with these new adjustments too. Hell, if it was up to me, I would be on the beach in Mexico right now."

"You can still go," Paul sneered. I rolled my eyes theatrically.

"Anyway, We are a pack now. We work together to protect all humans. From any threat and possible threats," I declared seriously.

"We still don't want you here," Rachel hissed.

"And I don't want to be here," I smirked, "I see that you're too important to listen."

"Damn Skippy," she smirked.

"So that's why you're one of the first female wolves to your tribe, right?" I asked innocently.

Her smirk faded, "I help carry on the wolf gene."

I lifted my head back and laughed, "You just admitted that your only purpose is to have sex. At least I'm useful to the pack. You're just a-"

"She's the most beautiful woman in the world!" Paul barked.

"Whatever you say honey," I chuckled.

"You bitch," Rachel spat.

"Bark bark," I smirked.

"Screw you, whore," Paul hissed.

"That's what you've got _that _whore for. Then what use will she have?" I shot back.

Paul made a move to get up and I tensed quickly. I crouched a bit in reaction. Jared grabbed Paul's shoulder and held him down.

"Well, my boyfriend's waiting for me at home," I said as I rose up to leave, "See you later incubator."

Seth was waiting on the edge of the forest by our house. I had long since howled to let them know I was fine. He was sitting there biting his nails.

I phased back and pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top. As soon as I stepped out the tree line I was encased in a tight hug. It took me a minute to get air into my lungs again.

"So, how'd it go?," He asked nervously.

"Well I'm alive," I joked but my laughter was cut short by the dangerous look he gave me.

I cleared my throat and started again, "Better than I thought. I made the new patrol schedule. They didn't eat me. I made Brady my beta. I got into a fight with Rachel. Oh, and on my way over, I was thinking that we should take a vacation to Mexico."

When I finished he didn't say anything. He was looking at me with an amused expression. He shook his head and started chuckling. He scooped my up and proceeded to carry me into the house. When we got inside he nudged the front door closed with his foot and put me down on the couch in the living room. He stood over me and laughed.

"What,?" I asked thoroughly confused.

"Only you can make a horrible day sound fantastic and then you suggest that we go on vacation? He laughed.

I rolled my eyes stood up and began walking to the kitchen.

"What do you want for dinner?," I asked. I pushed the door open to see Cam, Embry, Quil, and Leah all trying to squeeze through the back door at once.

"What the hell is going on here?" I shrieked. Seth came rushing in to see what was wrong and took a second to take in the sight. Then he burst out laughing. I wouldn't even crack a smile.

"Come on Allie," Seth nudged me, "Lighten up. They just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"That's not what I'm angry about." I hissed. He gave me a confused look. I gestured to the sink full of dirty dishes and half eaten plates of burgers and fries. He followed my lead and narrowed his eyes.

"Do you want to kill them or should I?" I asked angrily.

"You take half, I'll take the other." He compromised.

"We were going to clean it up," Leah tried to soothe us.

"Your going to clean it up now," I insisted. They all hurried back to what I assume were their individual plates and hurriedly finished their meals.

"Allie," Seth asked, "Do you want to go the diner for dinner?"

"That would be great," I smiled at him, "Just let me change."

"I want this place clean by the time we get back," I told them.

"Will you tell us how it went when you get back," Embry asked nervously.

I stayed silent for a second, "Have Jake here and I will."

And I left without another word.


	5. Movie Mysteries

ALLIEPOV

"And then I told Rachel, see you later incubator, and I left," I told Jake and the Cullen's.

After dinner, Seth and I rushed home. Once I was sure our home was spotless, I began to tell them what went down at Sam's house.

"You called my sister a concubine?," Jake laughed.

"Not exactly but sort of I guess," I mused thoughtfully.

A ream of laughs exploded through out the house chaotically. I rolled my eyes and stood up. I walked into the kitchen and went directly to the pantry. I grabbed a couple bags of chips and returned to the living room where Jake and his pack were trying to decide on a movie.

"What about a romantic comedy?," Cam asked.

"How about no?," Leah asked sarcastically.

"Hell no," Seth declared.

"I second the motion," Embry agreed.

"What about a home movie?" I proposed.

There were several murmurs of agreement so I put the bags down on the coffee table and went over to the shelves that held all of our movies. I reached up to the top shelf and pulled down an old cardboard box. I sank down onto the carpet and reached inside the box. I pulled out several old VHS tapes.

"Okay guys," I said calling their attention to myself, "Should we watch 'Embry's swim of shame 1998' or 'Paintball War of 1999'?

"I vote for the swim of shame," Leah smirked from the couch.

"I vote paintball war," Quil said quickly. I eyed him skeptically.

"I've seen enough of Embry's swim of shame," he explained.

There were several shouts for the paintball war so I popped it into the tape player and someone flicked off the lights. I slid across the floor and leaned my back against the couch. Seth sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my waist.

The screen lit up and a six year old Embry hobbled onto the screen.

"Awe," I cooed at Embry sarcastically.

"I almost forgot how chubby he was," Cam laughed. It was true. Embry wasn't always so slender. He was a rather round kid.

Embry huffed at us and crossed his arms. "That's not me," he defended.

The little boy on screen huffed and crossed his arms too. I paused the video and pointed this out to Embry and we laughed at his expense.

"Mom," Six year old Embry whined, "We can't play paintball with all these stupid clothes on! There too heavy, then we can't run."

Aunt Caroline stepped on screen in a beautiful peach floral print dress. She knelt down to Embry's height and adjusted his little vest.

"It's for your safety sweetheart," She said and then kissed his cheek adoringly. Embry rolled his eyes at his mother but didn't argue again.

"Carrie?," A woman's voice called in the background.

"Coming," Aunt Caroline answered. She stood up and walked off screen and up to her house.

A little girl ran on screen and jumped on top of Embry. She was dressed in the same protective clothing as Embry was and her long hair was pulled into to two little ponytails that hung from either side of her face. They fell back onto the grass and the little girl held him down.

"Get off Nessa," Embry laughed. The miniature me smiled impishly and rolled her eyes.

"Now Lena!," she shouted over her shoulder. Camilla ran on screen and holding a paintball gun. I jumped off of Embry and Cam started firing green paint at him.

"Girls!," Someone shouted in the distance. All three children's eyes widened and Camilla stopped firing.

"Uh oh," I whispered to them.

The three of us quickly got up and ran into the house. A tall man walked out of the woods with a small grin playing on his face. I recognized him immediately as my father and straightened up in my seat.

The man on the screen looked down at the green paint on the grass and shook his head and laughed. He walked up to the camera and turned in off.

The video ended and Jake passed me the box. I shuffled through it while Quil took the other one out of the VHS player.

I pulled out another pair of videos and took a look at them.

"Okay we have 'Nessa and the Great coffee scare', or 'Aunt Carrie's birds and the bees accident'?

"Birds and the bees?" I asked. Two votes.

"Coffee scare it is," I grinned. I handed Quil the tape and he put it in.

The screen lit up and there was mini-me and my dad sitting at the table in our kitchen. I was dressed in my little Batman pajamas and he was dressed in dark slacks and blue button down shirt. He was sipping coffee from his mug and I was pushing cereal around in my bowl.

"Batman?," Leah questioned with a smirk.. I shrugged and grinned at her.

"Daddy?," I asked.

"What is it honey," My dad replied.

"Why do you drink coffee everyday?" I asked innocently.

He smiled devilishly, "Because when grown-ups don't drink coffee they turn into monsters."

"Like the government?" I asked curiously. He fought a laugh and shook his head.

"More like the boogie man," he laughed.

I nodded in understanding, "So like Aunt Cora when she and Uncle Sean say they need to have a nap in the middle of the day but it only lasts like two minutes?"

My dad snorted into his coffee and choked.

"Daddy?"

We laughed as the feed cut off and I pulled out yet another pair of tapes.

"How about 'Embry's worst nightmare, or ' Lena's First Love'? I asked.

"First love," Quil growled. I raised my eyebrows and look around for any objections. Camilla was shoving her face into a pillow in mortification. I smirked and threw Quil the tape. He put the last on onto a the growing pile. Seth chuckled into my hair and pulled me closer to him. I grabbed a bowl of popcorn and held it in my lap. This could be my favorite.

Aunt Carrie was standing in her kitchen. She was chopping up some vegetables while a pot bubbled merrily on the stove. The kitchen was littered with cookies, cakes, gingerbread houses and the occasional bowl of candied yams or mashed potatoes.

"I really wish you wouldn't test your new camera now Monte," She told the person holding the camera.

"Monte is my dad," I whispered in explanation.

"Carrie, I've already told you that this is a very important test," Monte whined, "This is going to be the best Christmas the kids have ever had!"

Aunt Carrie rolled her eyes and went back to chopping her greens. A door slammed shut in the background and the camera shuddered and then steadied as my dad put it on the tripod. He hugged Aunt Carrie and left the room.

"Uncle Monte!," Embry shouted from out side.

They came back into the room with Embry riding on my dad's shoulders. He was laughing brightly. My dad set him down on the ground and snow slid off of Embry's shoulders and seeped onto the floor. It was amazing how much younger my family looked. Embry couldn't have been more than four and my aunt and Dad had to have been in there early twenties.

"Boys!," aunt Carrie scolded halfheartedly. She bent down and kissed Embry's cheek and helped him out of his winter jacket. He struggled a bit but let her help him regardless.

"Where are Lena and Nessa?," Embry asked excitedly. My dad had been sneaking over to the pot Aunt Carrie had been occupying herself with earlier but answered anyway.

"I told your Aunt Cora and Uncle Sean that I had to stay in New York through Christmas and asked them to take Nessa with them when they flew over here," My dad explained.

"But your not in New York," Embry shouted as if this were not obvious.

I looked over at Embry and smirked.

"You were never very bright were you?," I teased. He rolled his eyes and shushed me.

"I know," Monte chuckled, "I meant to surprise them. You have to keep it a secret okay."

Embry nodded dutifully. My dad began to poke around in the pot and Aunt Carrie shooed him a way with threats about not feeding him. He smiled at her mischievously and moved away. He sat down at the kitchen table with Embry and they each took a cookie.

"So how was school?," Monte asked Embry.

"Boring," Embry responded, "But Mrs. Black drove me and Quil over to see Jake. He has a cold but she said we could visit him again before Christmas if Mom says it's okay."

"Well mom?" Monte asked Carrie.

'If Sara says it's okay," she smiled gently.

"Thanks," Embry whispered to my dad.

"No problem," My dad yelled.

Embry laughed and started up again, "Mom can Quil come over and play when Nessa and Lena get here?"

"I'll call Nancy in a minute," She agreed. Embry cheered and gobbled down another cookie.

"They should be here in about an hour little guy," My dad soothed.

"Why?" Embry asked.

"Because," My dad answered childishly.

"Because why?' Embry countered.

"Carrie," My dad whined, "I thought you said he was over this phase."

"I said he was _**almost **_over this phase," she smirked.

The door bell rang and Embry hopped up and shouted frantically. He ran into the next room and Aunt Carrie ran after him. My dad remained sitting in the kitchen and then very sneakily slid over to the stove. He opened the oven door and pulled out a tray of cookies. He grabbed a spatula and scooped one up. He replaced the tray and then made a grab for the cookie. He yelped loudly at the heat of the cookie and dropped it on the counter. Two little girls burst into the kitchen and attacked him with hugs.

Cam and I were dressed in matching red velvet dresses. We had our hair pulled back into single ponytails and they were tied with cream ribbons.

"Hello my little girls," My dad laughed happily.

"Daddy I missed you," I said.

"I missed you too honey," he smiled.

Embry and Aunt Carrie walked back into the kitchen followed by Aunt Cora and Uncle Sean. My dad and Aunt Cora exchanged a hug and then he exchanged a hand shake with Uncle Sean.

"Mom did you call Mrs. Aetera?" Embry asked.

"She's walking Quil over as we speak," Carrie responded.

"Who's Quil?" Camilla asked.

"Your future boyfriend," Both Embry's responded. I looked over at him and smirked.

"Your a physic," I laughed.

"No he's not!," Mini Cam and future Cam argued and stomped their little feet.

"Lena's got a boyfriend," The mini-me teased.

"I do not," Cam screeched angrily. Her little face was getting red with embarrassment and anger.

"Do too," Embry and I jeered in unison.

"That's enough you two," Aunt Carrie scolded. We felt silent but teasing grins still held there place on our faces.

"You guys are so mean," Lena muttered angrily.

"Yes we are ," All four of us answered her.

"Monte, your wasting your camera's battery," Aunt Carrie reminded him. My dad swore under his breath and shut it off.

"That was so un-cool you guys," Camilla frowned. Quil was grinning like a fool and giving Cam starry eyes.

Jake and Leah were still laughing and Embry was declaring his physic abilities.

"Fine," Cam huffed, "Laugh all you want but I get to choose the next movie."

I pushed the cardboard box over to her and she fished around for a minute before settling on one. She handed it to Quil and then flashed me a mischievous look. I arched an eyebrow at her and turned my attention to the screen.

"This little movie is called 'Allie's first date'," Cam introduced, "We were fifteen and living in Florida at the time."

My eyes widened and I glared at her sharply. Seth's grip on my waist tightened momentarily and I winced slightly. He loosened his grip and gently rubbed my waist. I gave him a look of guilt.

"Mom!," Camilla hollered on the screen. She and I walked through the door of our apartment in our school uniforms. My skirt was hiked up a good two or three inches more than Cam's and my shirt had a few buttons left undone at the bottom. You could see the my naval piercing.

"Allie!," Embry shrieked at me. I rolled my eyes and turned to face him.

"I was fifteen and that piercing was painfully closed up when I first phased," I soothed sarcastically. He nodded in approval and I turned back to the screen.

"Damn," Seth swore under his breath. Embry growled at him protectively.

"Shut up Embry," I muttered angrily.

"At least Cam had some decency!," Embry argued angrily.

"Once again Embry, shut up!," I screamed at him. He crossed his arms and huffed.

On screen Cam and I were greeted by Aunt Cora behind the camera.

"What are you doing Aunt Cora?" I asked on screen.

"I found your dad's old camera and wanted to see if it still works," she replied.

A somewhat sad look crossed my expression and Cam nudged my shoulder and smiled brightly at me. My smile brightened and we looked at the camera again.

"I have some news and a favor to ask Aunt Cora," I told her.

The camera spun around and we could see the living room. The tripod was set up in the center amongst a pile of boxes. The camera was set down on top of it and then turned again and set on our faces again. Aunt Cora stepped into view and she sat down on the couch. Cam joined her and was giving me amused looks. I leaned against the door frame and played with the hem of my nearly nonexistent skirt. My backpack was thrown down beside me and shot furtive glances at it occasionally.

"So this guy named Vincent and I were talking by my locker and he asked me if wanted to go with him to a movie tonight, and I said that I would-" I cut myself off for a moment.

"Would have to ask the most amazing aunt ever first," I lied carefully.

"With a group of friends?" Aunt Cora asked cheekily.

"Not exactly," I said quietly.

"What did I get wrong?," She asked feigning confusion. I shot her a look of false anger mixed with amusement.

"It's a date okay," I confessed laughingly.

"Honey I can't let you go out with him tonight," she soothed gently.

"Why?," I whined.

"Because I have a date tonight," she blushed.

"WHAT!" Cam and I hollered in unison.

"Everyone else is going on dates but me!" Cam whined.

"And I need to make sure that everything goes okay on your first date honey," Aunt Cora continued.

"Aunt Cora," I whined immaturely, "I can do this! You can trust me!"

"The last time you said that you came home with a piercing," she pointed out.

"One time!" I defended.

"The other time it was a tattoo!," she argued.

"Please please pretty please," I begged. She smiled and rolled her eyes at me.

"Fine, but I'm leaving at seven and when I get back you better be here," Aunt Cora bargained.

"I didn't know you were planning on coming back tonight," I smirked sarcastically.

"Your so immature," Aunt Cora muttered in embarrassment.

"So," Cam prompted.

"Fine," Aunt Cora sighed, "You can go,"

I let out a loud squeal and nearly ran out of the room but Aunt Cora called me back.

"One condition," she warned, "Camilla has to film you before you leave. I want to see my precious baby girl before she goes on her first date."

"Aunt Cora," I whined, "Does she have to?"

"Yes she does," Cam smirked. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"I swear," I hissed at her, "I'll burn your new purse and bake the ashes into a cake."

"Then I'll put the video on the internet," She shot back.

"Then I'll bake you into a cake," I argued.

"Are you really that hungry," Cora chuckled.

"Duh," I said rolling my eyes, "Dieting."

Seth looked down at me and quirked his eyebrow.

"Dieting?," he questioned.

"The yogurt, water, and celery diet," I laughed.

"Did it work?," Jake asked.

"Yeah but in all the wrong places," I admitted.

We returned our attention to the screen and I watched the feed cut off for a second. The image returned but this time my younger self was standing in front of a mirror. My long dark hair was perfectly straight. The red highlights glistened in the light. My dress was short, black and lace. It was skin tight and the lining was the exact shade of my skin, giving the illusion that it was transparent. I was wearing large silver hoop earrings and matching silver bracelets. The spiked heels were a bit of an overkill though...

Jake whistled lowly and Quil howled. Leah looked impressed and Cam was smiling and Seth was glaring at the screen angrily. Embry was glaring at me.

"Are you out of your mind?" Embry demanded angrily.

"Shut up Embry," I said rolling my eyes.

"I can't believe you wore that," he yelled.

"That was a modest outfit," Cam laughed.

He narrowed his eyes at me, "You're dead."

"It was years ago," I defended angrily.

"Don't care," he said nonchalantly.

"You wouldn't have known if you hadn't seen this," I snapped.

"Don't care," he repeated.

"I don't have to listen to you," I pointed out.

"Yes you do," he said calmly.

"No I don't," I nearly screamed.

"Yes you do," he said in a clipped tone, "I'm your older brother."

"No your not," I said coldly.

He stilled momentarily, "You need to listen to me."

"No. I . Do. Not." I told him slowly.

"Allie," Cam whispered to me in warning. I gave her an icy look and turned away from both of them.

Seth paused the video earlier and handed me the remote with sad eyes. I sighed gently.

"What is it?," I whispered to him quietly.

"You never dress like that for me," he said unhappily.

"I didn't know I had to," I admitted.

"I'm not saying you need to," he covered quickly, "I was just wondering why you don't."

"I didn't think I had to try that hard to make you happy," I confessed guiltily.

"You don't," he said rapidly.

"Look the reason I broke with Vincent was because he expected me to dress like that everyday. He wanted too much from me," I told him.

"And to make you his wife in Mexico," Cam added hastily.

"What?," Seth and Embry shouted in unison.

"You just can't keep your mouth shut can you," I questioned Cam angrily. She shrugged and smirked at me so I rolled my eyes and patted Seth on the arm comfortingly. I clicked play and the video resumed.

Cam had set down the camera now and was standing in front of me. She was plucking at nearly none existent strands of misplaced hair.

"There," she said with finality, "You look perfect."

"Are you sure?," I asked nervously while biting my lip.

"Yes," she said impatiently, " Now go grab your purse and wait for the signal."

"Fine," I breathed.

"Calm down sis," Cam chuckled, "It's going to be fine."

"Liar," I giggled.

"Anyway," Cam said rolling her eyes, "I have something for you from your mom."

She opened a drawer and pulled out a long thin jewelry box and handed it to me.

"You mean our mom," I told her.

"No Allie," she sighed, "We've been over this. My mom is Cora. I can't call anyone else but her my mother. Your mother is our biological one."

"I can't say that I agree with your choice to abandon our real mom," I told her.

"I'm not abandoning her." she insisted.

"I don't agree with you but I won't argue right now," I compromised.

"Wow," Cam said shocked, "Was that maturity?"

"Maybe," I giggled.

"Well I'm surprised," she said. Cam took the little silver anklet from me and bent down to put it on me. She straightened up and hugged me tightly.

"Good luck little sister," Cam wished me tearfully.

"Calm down," I laughed. I hugged her tightly.

"Remember to wait at least 52 seconds before opening the door," Cam reminded.

"How would you know what to do?," I laughed.

"Shut up," she giggled.

I walked out of the room and she grabbed the camera to follow. We walked down the hall and into another room. I recognized the wallpapered room immediately as Aunt Cora's. I began to riffle through her closet.

"What the hell are you doing?," Cam asked nervously.

"Getting-" I grunted, "Something."

I reached into it again and this time succeeded to grab something. I pulled out a faded shoe box and plopped down on the bed. Cam flocked after me and sat down an the other side of me. I opened the shoebox and inside were old papers and keep sakes. I grabbed a pen and some paper and scribbled something on the paper.

"What are you doing?," Cam questioned me again.

"Writing something down?," I asked her sarcastically.

"Don't be stupid," she snapped.

"It's a memory box," I sighed irritably.

"I still don't get it," Cam told me.

"I'm writing down the date, Vincent's name, and my age," I told her.

"That's so cute," She cooed.

"Shut up," I grinned, "I do this for everything."

The doorbell chimed somewhere and I froze instantly.

"Put that away for me," I told her hastily.

I ran out of the room and Cam ran after me. She stopped behind the wall and sneakily aligned the camera. I opened the door and it swung open to reveal to reveal a rather tall lean guy. He was wearing a baby blue button down shirt and dark jeans.

"Hey Allie," He smiled sweetly.

"Hi Vinny," I gushed.

"Ready to face a few demons?," he teased.

"Just one," I laughed, "Let me grab my purse."

A minute later I was on my way out. I threw a wink at the camera and then I was gone. Cam turned the camera on herself.

"Well future watchers," She sighed, "There goes our little girl. Dressed like a slut and paired with the completely wrong guy for her. Everyone in our school knows that. Hell, even she does. Can't last for more than two weeks."

"Anyway," she continued, " Start placing your bets. I say three hours. Well, bye everyone."

The screen went blank and I rounded on Camilla. I fixed my most furious glare on her and she flinched instantly.

"You bet on my first boyfriend!," I hollered angrily.

"He was an idiot!," she defended, "Everyone saw that you two wouldn't last! I didn't even start the pool!"

"I still can't believe you bet on my relationship!," I screeched.

"Fine," she sighed, "I'm really sorry I did that. It was cruel of me."

"Yes it was," I agreed, "and I accept your apology."

Cam rolled her eyes at me and turned away to snuggle further into Quil's side. Embry glared at me sharply and jerked his head to the kitchen. He stood up and stomped into the kitchen. Seth and I shared a concerned look and we stood up together. Leah caught on to my need for backup and she followed us into the kitchen. Embry was pacing back and forth inside it. I slid down onto a chair at the table and Leah sat down beside me. Seth leaned against the counter and watched Embry with narrowed eyes.


	6. The secret alliance

AlliePOV

"Are you out of your mind?," Embry barked at me. I reeled back at his tone.

"Is that a rhetorical question?," I asked in a small voice.

He ignored me. "Why would you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Dress like that!" He shouted at me. I shrunk back further and looked down at my lap.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Excuse me?," he snapped, "You're the one that went and dressed like a hooker! God knows what you did with that boy!"

My temper flared instantly and Seth hissed at him.

"How dare you?," I shouted. I stared at him incredulously, "You didn't care what I did back then! Why the hell do you care so much now!"

"Because you're my sister!," he shouted.

"No I'm not!," I screamed, "I didn't speak to you for over three years and you never made any attempt to speak to me!"

"Shut up," he muttered.

"Why the hell do you care all of a sudden?" I ranted angrily, "You're such an ass! How dare you assume that I was a such a horrible person! You know nothing about me!"

"Shut up," he whispered.

I lowered my voice a bit, "Cam might kiss you're ass but, I sure as hell won't. You're not my brother and I don't care what genes we share."

"That's unfair Allie," He told me.

"For who?," I snapped. Leah grabbed my shaking hands and gave me a look that clearly meant stop. I tugged my hands from hers gently and crossed them.

I looked away from all of them until Jake, Cam and Quil came in. I glanced up at them and returned my gaze to my lap.

"We need to have a talk," Cam said, "Allie, Embry stay here. Everyone else please go. The three of us need to clear the air."

"I'm not leaving you," Seth told me, "not unless you want me too."

"It's fine," I told him quietly, "It's probably better to do this like we used to anyway."

He nodded at me and stopped to kiss my cheek. He squeezed my hand and then left with Leah, Jake and Quil. The swung shut and an eerie silence hung in the air.

"What the hell is going on with you two?," Cam asked rhetorically.

Neither of us answered her so she continued.

"You two used to act more like twins," she said, "What the fuck happened over the years?"

"He became an asshole," I snapped.

"She became a bitch," he retorted.

"So puberty," she joked.

We each threw her a sharp look and she cleared her throat.

"Allie why don't you start," she suggested. I nodded stiffly and leaned forward slightly.

"What the fuck is your damn problem you-" I started

"Thank you!," Cam cut me off.

"You grew up too fast," he snapped at me.

"I didn't exactly have a choice," I retorted angrily, "I was forced to."

"Well so was I!," he defended.

"I had to do it years before you," I argued.

"You only phased two years ago," he said dumbly.

"I grew up when I was seven," I snapped.

"What happened-" He began but, cut himself off.

"Yeah that's right," I said bitterly, "I ran out of parents."

He didn't say anything for a minute.

"I had to live without a dad completely," he said.

"Sorry but my crappy life was worse than your crappy life," I smirked.

"It's better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all," he quoted in argument.

"I've never had a real mom," I argued.

"Not true," he snorted, "You had Aunt Cora."

"She wasn't my mom," I retorted, "I could never call her my mother no matter how kind she was."

"That's cold," he said smugly.

"Not really," I said, "She always knew how I felt about her. She was my Aunt. She knew that a mom was something I would never have unless mine rose from the grave."

"Damn," he swore.

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms with a wide smirk. I have a crappier life than him. Wait...

"What the fuck are we doing?," I laughed. I covered my face with my hands and continued to laugh although they were sounding closer to sobs each second.

I heard a small shuffle and Embry sat down on the floor in front of me. I raised my head a bit just in time for tears to start welling in my eyes.

"Allie," he whispered, "You realize the stupidest part of us fighting right?"

I shook my head no because I didn't trust my voice.

"We never used to fight because we were always too busy making fun of Cam," he clarified.

I laughed at Cam's horrified look and smiled back at Embry. Cam walked over and sat down beside Embry on the floor. I slid off my chair to join them and we all gave each other a meaningful look.

"Okay guys," Cam said, "New plan. Maybe we should do something really fun at least once a week to stay connected. Just the three of us."

":I vote to disagree with Camilla," I proposed.

'I second the motion," Embry agreed.

"I hate you two," she grumbled.

"Hey I have an idea," I beamed.

"Do tell Allie," Embry prompted.

"What if the three of us get together once a week to do something fun. That way we could stay connected!," I bubbled.

"That's a great idea," Embry grinned.

"I really hate you two," Camilla giggled.

"You guys," I said slowly, "I'm going to ask Aunt Carrie what she remembers about our dad."

They gave me equal looks of disdain and anger. Camilla narrowed her eyes at me and Embry was glaring at the floor.

"Do you need to create an issue?," she spat coldly. I flinched back slightly but held my ground.

"I need to know what happened," I told her boldly.

"No you don't," She snapped, "It's unimportant. It would be cruel to bring that up."

"How can you say it's unimportant?," I asked incredulously, "Our birth father determines our future."

"No he doesn't," she argued.

"Wouldn't you want to know if Billy Black is our dad?" I said turning to Embry.

He glanced up at me and the gave Camilla a guilty look. She shot him daggers with her eyes and gave a tiny jerk of her head angrily. I wouldn't have noticed it at all but, I was watching them too intensely to miss it.

"What?" I questioned.

"Nothing," Cam said quickly.

"Embry," I told her, "I was asking Embry."

We both looked at him. Cam was glaring at him intensely and I was trying my hardest not to yell at them. He looked me in the eye and opened his mouth to speak. Camilla stood up just then and ordered him outside.

"Wait," I called to them angrily. Camilla was halfway out the backdoor and Embry was hot on her heels. I stood up to follow them.

"What the hell is going on?," I seethed.

"Nothing," Cam insisted.

"I'm not talking to you so, shut up," I flared at her.

"We're leaving, "she snapped at me.

She took Embry's hand and pulled him outside with her. I ran to the door and watched them run into the trees. They had probably phased already and I wouldn't be able to talk to them in wolf form. I realized that I couldn't talk to any of Jake's pack in wolf form after I transferred packs. Seth was the only one who I could speak with.

I stepped back and slammed the door. The tiny glass panes shivered in their frames. I turned around and went over to the stove. I angrily scrubbed the dishes in the sink. I was scrubbing a glass when I squeezed too hard and it shattered in my hands.

"Fuck," I swore under my breath. I ran my hands under some warm water and made sure that there was no glass in them. The front door opened and slammed shut.

"Allie," Seth called.

"Kitchen," I muttered.

He breezed through the door and looked at my hands in concern. He raced over to me and took my hands in his tenderly.

"I take it the Great Sibling War is still on," he muttered. He was gently turning my hands over in the water and poking at then occasionally to check for glass.

"You guess right," I sighed, "They're hiding something from me."

"What do you mean?," He asked confused, "I thought you guys tell each other everything."

"Apparently not," I huffed, "Whatever it is has something to do with our dad."

He stopped with my hands and looked at me carefully. He studied my expression.

'I heard them arguing about something a couple of days ago," he confessed, "I didn't hear much of it but, they said something about protecting something."

"That could be anyone or anything," I mused to him, "That could be Aunt Carrie or our biological dad or even some kind of item that could help me figure this out."

"Don't get too wrapped up in this," he warned.

"I won't," I said absently. He gave me a stern look.

'I promise," I assured him.

"I don't believe you," he smirked.

"I really won't," I tried to convince him.

"Sure," he said sarcastically.

"Shut up," I grumbled.

"I can't really blame you though," he said thoughtfully. He turned off the water and brought a towel down on them.

"Is that so?," I asked surprised.

"I would want to know too," He admitted honestly.

"Now if only you could tell that to my sister," I sighed.

"Why would I set myself up for death?," he asked seriously. I laughed at his confused look and removed the towel from my hands. I grimaced at the raw red color of my hands. They were nearly healed but still stung painfully.

Seth got my message of pain and kissed my forehead lovingly. He went to the freezer and pulled out an icepack. Then he tenderly placed it on my freshly healed wounds.

"Why do you love me?," I asked stupidly.

"Because you're beautiful, intelligent, unique, kind, sexy, feisty, determined, hot as hell, maybe hotter than hell, and you are incredible," he gushed happily.

"Hotter than hell," I laughed and arched an eyebrow at him.

"Defiantly," he confirmed. I laughed and gave him an awkward one armed hug.

"Are you sure that imprinting hasn't forced you into this?," I asked unsurely.

"Even if I wasn't a wolf," he told me in a definite tone, "I would have had to be blind not to see how amazing you are. I would have fallen in love with you anyway."

"You're too-" I struggled to find words, "Good for me."

"I doubt that," he laughed, "You're beautiful, intelligent, funny and rich. You could do far better than some kid."

"With my bitchy attitude?," I asked, "I don't think so."

"You're not a bitch!," he growled.

"Really?," I asked sarcastically. He narrowed his eyes at me playfully and growled again.

"Want to try again honey?," I teased.

"That's it!," He growled loudly. He reached for my sides and tickled me mercilessly. My laughter filled the room and mixed with him. I pressed my back against the counter and tried get away from his death grip.

"Apologize," he rumbled.

"Never," I gasped.

"That's disgusting," someone said from the door. Seth's hands fell limp at my sides.

"Can't even be alone in our own house," he grumbled under his breath.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Leah standing in the doorway soaking wet from the rain outside.

"Hey," I said unsurely.

"Calm down," She said rolling her eyes, "I'm not here to yell at you."

"Why?" I asked shocked.

'Because you're not wrong," she huffed impatiently.

"Really?," I asked again.

"Yes," she snapped, "You have a right to know who your father is. Embry agrees with you too but, he's more afraid of your sister than anything right now."

"Why?" I flared, "What the fuck has she done now? Can she phase into a lion too?"

Leah chuckled, "I knew I liked you. Good job Seth."

"Thanks," Seth said proudly. I rolled my eyes at them.

"I honestly have no idea what's going on with those two lately,' she confessed.

"No one does," I grumbled. She gave me a sympathetic look and turned away to leave.

"Just watch yourself around them," she warned, "They might be trying to protect you."

"A snowball's chance in hell," I snorted.

"The ninth level of hell is all ice," she giggled. Then she made her way outside and left Seth and I pondering over what a mess I had created.


	7. Fire at the Bonfire

APOV

The next morning I woke up to a bright beautiful Saturday. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. What? The? Fuck?

Today is the day that I am supposed to defend the Cullen family at the big double pack bonfire. Why the hell would nature make it seem like the perfect day for the beach? Does the universe hate me?

I rolled over in bed and expected Seth to materialize beneath me. Unfortunately my arm connected with the sheets. I sat up in a haste. I looked around my empty room and then dejectedly threw my sheets back. I hobbled to the door on my weak 'morning' legs. As soon as I threw open the bedroom door, my nose was assaulted with a faint burning smell. Immediately, I bolted down to the kitchen.

Standing with his back to the stove was my darling Seth. He was happily pouring a glass of juice as I dashed to the stove. I attempted to salvage the already blackened eggs. After a few moments I gave up entirely and threw the whole thing out. I turned to face him with a slightly amused and somewhat angry look.

"Good morning," he grinned sheepishly. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I thought we agreed that you're not aloud to cook without adult supervision?" I teased.

"You're so funny," He said sarcastically. He handed me a plate of delectable looking pancakes and freshly chopped fruit.

I arched an eyebrow at him, "Who made this?"

"Embry's mom came by," he told me, "She only stopped by to drop something off for you. She taught me the Call Cakes recipe."

"She told you?," I asked shocked.

"She thinks I'm cute," He said smugly.

"Extremely," I giggled and pinched his cheek. He scowled at me.

"The package is on the coffee table in the living room," he directed.

I nodded and went over to then living room. A small brown box was laying on the table just as he said. There was a white envelope on top so I grabbed it and ripped it open. There was a letter inside written in the most beautifully flowing script. I recognized it immediately as Aunt Carrie's.

_My Dearest Little Allie,_

_On your eighteenth birthday I had hoped very much that your father, Aunt Cora, Uncle Sean, and I would be hosting a great celebration for you. Although that dream may be impossible now, I still want to honor some of the things that we had wanted to do for you._

_The first is a present. In the Makah tradition, when a woman comes of age an anklet is woven for her. She wears it on her right foot until a young man chooses her for marriage. Then after the ceremony the anklet is moved to the left foot. _

_Of course traditions change over time. The original age was around fifteen. Now we follow the American custom of eighteen and we don't really encourage marriage for many years to come. This is really more of symbol of adulthood. _

_I know how important it is for you to be recognized as separate from your sister. I want you to know that we Makah treat twins as entirely separate beings. Your anklet will be based on your personality. _

_My only request from you is that you save this gift until your true birthday. Make sure that you wear it proudly as a maiden. I know that Seth would be happy to move it as soon as possible. I wish you the best of luck with your future dearest little niece._

_All my Love,_

_Aunt Carrie_

I finished reading and paused entirely for a moment. Aunt Carrie's letter had left me feeling both happy and confused. I can't begin to imagine how my anklet would look. However, the idea of Seth moving my anklet made happy butterflies appear in my stomach. I could picture that ceremony and it made me...happy? Nervous? Both I guess but, I wondered how that would turn out. Neither of are eighteen yet and I'm not really sure if I want to get married.

"Allie!," Seth called from the kitchen, cutting off my silent rant.

He walked through the door and looked at me with concern.

"Could you hide this from me please?," I asked and held out the box to him.

"Sure, why?"

"It's a birthday gift from Aunt Carrie and I don't want to open until then," I told him.

"Okay well, you should probably get dressed for the worst day of your life," he told me seriously.

I groaned loudly and stopped out into the hall and all the way up to our bedroom. His loud booming laughter followed me there.

I stood in front on the mirror in my bedroom and carefully applied some mascara.

"Hey babe?," Seth said when he poked his head in the door. He gave a low whistle and appraised me joyously.

I was wearing a red strapless top with a short hem line and a pair of dark wash jean shorts. I had topped it off with a white open front cardigan and a pair of simple black flip flops. I left my hair down and made it rather long today. Due my power of controlling invisibility and intangibility I can make my hair appear any length. It really helps that I don't have to cut it to keep phasing.

"What do you want?," I giggled.

"I have to go meet with Jake and the others," He told me mindlessly, considering he was still watching me, "I would walk you to Sam's but I have orders."

"It's fine," I lied convincingly, "I'm not leaving for at least another twenty minutes anyway."

He narrowed his eyes at me and stepped into the room completely. He walked to me and gave me a tight hug.

"I'll tell Jake to shove it and walk with you," he murmured into my hair.

"Then you would have double patrols for a week, and I would see you at all," I told him, "Completely counter productive."

"Always the brains of the couple," he laughed.

"The brains of the world," I corrected laughingly.

"Really?" he teased.

"Who do you think told Bill Gates about the internet?" I joked.

He released me and stepped back.

"I have to go but, I know you'll be fine," he soothed, "Just be careful and remember what your opinion is. Don't forget who you are."

"Thanks," I smiled. He leaned down and kissed me gently. He left not a minute later and left me alone with my nerves. I hastily shoved my phone in my pocket and some cash. I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. I grabbed the basket of goodies for the bonfire and made my way out the backdoor.

Our backyard melted from smooth grass into sand. There was a small hill of sand that acted as a barrier between us. I slipped down the hill in no time then started walking to the bonfire not far away.

I could make out the forms of several wolves and a few imprints. The elders were sitting the farthest from the water by the barbeque grill. I got closer and hear the laughter die down and the whispers begin. I finally got there and was greeted by a still silence.

"So that's how this going to go?" I asked.

"Hell yeah," Paul snapped.

"Glad you're so mature," I smiled at him condescendingly.

I rolled my eyes at all of them and walked over to the long table of food. I dropped the basket on it and then turned to face all of the people staring at me.

"Since I am clearly the most mature of all of you, I guess I'll be the better one too," I grinned.

I plopped down on the sand next to Kim and nearly laughed when Jared rushed to her side and wrapped her in his arms protectively.

"Hey Kim," I greeted impartially.

"Hey Allie," she smiled nervously but still kindly.

"So how's your summer going?" I asked indifferently.

"Not bad, yours?," she asked. Jared loosened his grip slightly but still kept his eyes on me defensively.

"I've had better," I shrugged, "Although I'm still enjoying it just fine."

"I get what you mean," She sympathized with a nod. She shot Jared a cold look and he released her sheepishly.

"The power of imprinting huh?" I asked with a small grin.

"It's pretty useful," she giggled. I smiled at her sweetly.

Just then my phones obnoxiously shrill ring tone cried out. I sighed and gave her an apologetic look. She smiled reassuringly. I whipped out my phone and looked at the caller Id. Camilla.

"What?," I snapped.

"What the hell is your problem?," she hissed.

"You damn it," I flared.

"What did I do?," she asked angrily.

"You're the worst sister I've had or heard about," I insisted.

"Whatever Allie," she brushed me off, "Just to let you know Jake and Leah are on their way to talk to you guys."

"Fine," I snapped and ended the call. I threw my phone down in anger and brooded quietly until Kim asked what was wrong.

"My sister is a horrible person and doesn't even acknowledge it," I ranted.

"Now you know how we feel," Paul muttered.

I rounded on him, "I do acknowledge that I'm a horrible person."

"Do you really?," he sneered at me.

"Yes," I said slowly as if talking to a child, "Do you know that you're slower than Miss Daisy behind the wheel?"

"Fu-" he started angrily but Sam covered his mouth.

"By the way," I announced, "For those of you who couldn't hear my phone call, Jake and Leah are on their way to tell us something."

"What the hell do they want now?," one elder demanded.

"If I knew that I would have told you already," I pointed out.

Just then Jake and Leah broke out of the woods and made their way to the bonfire. I stood up and shot daggers at Sam who had been moving to stand too. He stilled momentarily and then sank back down. I motioned for Brady to join me and we stood in the center of the circle and waited for them to join us.

Jake and I shook hands while Brady and Leah exchanged a reserved nod.

"What's up princess?," I smiled.

"Eh you know," he started nonchalantly, "Same old. Same old. Came to try to resolve some issues that probably never will be. Then going to go play Barbie's with Nessie."

"How's my bitchy sister?," I asked.

"Bitchy as ever," he grinned.

"Tell her," Leah grinned while rolling her eyes.

"The Cullen family would like to request an audience with her majesty Queen Allison Call of the La Push pack in order to defend themselves against the injustice that the tribal elders of La Push are plotting against them," He announced in a medieval England tone.

"what the hell?," I asked Leah.

"Emmett said he would give him a hundred bucks if he said it just like that," she explained.

"Could you sign this?," Jake asked and he shoved a sheet of paper and a pen under my nose.

I snatched the paper from him and started reading aloud.

"**I _ have been given a message by Jacob Black in a medieval tone. **

**x_ _****date_**

I gave him an annoyed look but, nevertheless snatched the pen and signed it. I thrust it back at him angrily.

"How will he know if you didn't forge my signature?," I asked.

"We have Seth and Cam for that," he shrugged.

"I need to talk about this with my pack for a second so go to my house and wait there until we have an answer for you." I told them.

"Fine," they responded in unison.

"Race you," Leah challenged.

"You're on," Jake accepted and then they ran off. When I was sure they were gone I returned my gaze to the pack.

"Well?" I asked them, "Opinions?'

They all began shouting at me so I told everyone to shut up.

"Only the pack gets to vote," I explained, "I need you each to speak one at a time so raise your hands okay?"

There was an uproar at this so I looked at Brady for help. He gave me a reassuring pat ion the back and nodded.

"Shut up!," he roared. Even I jumped a little. Nevertheless it was effective at getting them quiet. He nodded at me solemnly and stepped back half a step.

"Everyone can tell their thoughts but, only the pack can vote. Understood?" I ordered huffily.

Several hands flew up so I called on Paul. This should be amusing.

"We can't have a trial for those leeches," he spat.

"Wow what a well formulated thought," I said in bored sarcastic tone. He growled at me.

"Kim?" I asked.

"I think that we should give the Cullen's a shot to say what they think even if we know we may not agree with them," she said in a small voice.

"Why?" I asked confused at her opinion.

"They seemed nice enough when I met them," she shrugged, "I don't think they seem like killers. Especially if they made the choice to change their lifestyle."

I nodded in consideration and pointed to Sam.

"What do you think? Alpha to Alpha?" I asked seriously.

"They can't be trusted," he said immediately, "But, we.. should.. listen to their opinions too."

"I'm honestly shocked," I admitted.

"Know thy enemy," he quoted smugly.

"Anyone else?," I asked. Silence so I turned to Brady.

"Let's do it," He shrugged, "Can't hurt unless Paul speaks."

laughed heartily and returned my attention to the pack.

"Nay?" I asked.

One, two, three votes.

"Yay?" I asked excitedly.

That's definitely more than half.

"Let's do it," I quoted Brady with a smile.

"Collin, could you run to my house and tell them yes and at two p.m. at the Cullen place?" I asked kindly.

The kid nodded eagerly and jumped up. He sprinted off to my house. My pack remained silent.

"Just a few things before we leave," I started, "We need to be in agreement that we will hear them out. No matter what they say. We are proud Quillute warriors and we should be respected because we are the best. So please act like the best."

There was a quiet murmur of agreement so I nodded sternly.

"Why do you treat us like kids?," Paul snapped.

"Because some of you act like children," I retorted calmly. My eyes bore into his sharply and he backed off a bit.

I turned to address the elders this time.

"I will report what has occurred at our meeting with the Cullen's to you. This does not mean that you are of higher authority than I. I only tell you what I want you to know so, be cautious of how you treat this pack. We are protectors of the tribe. Not lap dogs," I warned in a steely voice.

The five of them gave me reproachful looks but, remained silent otherwise. I turned away from them and watched Collin run back.

"They said fine and that you should probably make sure that you're ready to see your siblings," he reported diligently.

"Thanks Collin," I grinned and fist bumped him.

"Hey Barren," Rachel called from Paul's side.

"Hey concubine," I retorted smugly.

"Why wouldn't you let the imprints vote? Don't you think we're apart of the pack?" she asked smugly.

"The warriors are the ones that get to vote because they are the ones who would have to fight them. Although your opinions are valued and respected the final decision should lay with those who will be fighting if needed," I explained calmly.

"Oh," she said in a surprisingly small voice.

"Mmhmm," I sighed.

"If we're all ready to go?" Brady asked me.

"You're right. Let's get moving guys," I directed.

They stood up and slowly kissed their loved ones goodbye. It was a truly hilarious sight. About five enormous guys towering over tiny women in bone crushing hugs. The kisses never seemed to stop. I wonder if that's how Seth and I look to other people.

Some shook hands with the elders and others passed them over completely. Then they finally started to drift into the woods. Each gave their partner a look of longing and complete heartbreak.

I rolled my eyes and waved goodbye to everyone. Then nodded at Brady to follow me into the woods and phased when I was sure I was alone.

Several lovesick and whiny wolves thoughts entered my head at once. I rolled my eyes and met up with them in a small clearing.

"_Okay guys," I started, "We'll head east together and try to remain as one unit as much as possible. When we get there Sam, Jared, Brady and I will go human to talk with them. The rest of you are to stay in your wolf form. Flank us to the rear and sides. Got it?"_

"_I thought you trusted these leeches," Paul gaffed, "Why do we need to stay in our wolf forms?"_

"_It's not for protection Paul," I told him, "I think that you'll phase anyway and I want someone around to alert me when you're going to attack and get yourself killed."_

"_I can't stand you," he growled at me angrily._

"_Don't you think I know that?," I snapped at him angrily, "I've had enough of your constant whining! Everyone else is making the best of this but, you feel the need to act like a child! I've already told you I don't want to lead the pack but, I was ordered to leave! I didn't have a choice! What don't you understand?"_

_There was an eerie silence in the air after my outburst. Paul adverted his eyes from me and instead chose to glare at the ground. He was pawing at it tenderly as if afraid of it._

"_I'm done with your lack of respect for me," I admitted, "I might be a kid but, I'm a pretty smart one. I'm not going to abuse my power and make you take half of someone's shifts like I really want to. Just keep quiet for the rest of this little field trip and maybe I won't destroy you."_

_I turned on my heel and began running east. The pack was following me closely as I directed. I cleared my mind and readied myself to speak with the Cullen' s as neither friend nor foe. Right now I was neutral. I really don't think we can banish them at all. They were probably going to be just fine. For Paul's sake I hope he kept his mouth shut._


	8. Betrayal

**SETHPOV**

We waited patiently outside the Cullen home for Allie's arrival. Jake and Leah came back about ten minutes ago. Jake had proudly produced the slip of paper he had Allie sign and Emmett grudgingly paid up.

I honestly have no idea what Allie will do or say. Jake said that Allie had been totally immersed in her pack when they were there. I know that she must have a plan. My girl is always prepared for any situation.

"Seth?" Leah called from the porch.

I jogged over and raised my eyebrows in question.

"Allie just sent text me from the woods," She explained, "She definitely still loves you but, she won't hug you or anyone when she gets here."

"Why?," I whined.

"She wants to appear as neutral as possible," Leah smirked, "Suffering from Allie withdrawal?"

"Yes," I grumbled.

Before she could taunt me, Alli broke through the trees and was flanked by Sam, Brady and Jared. They each stood tall just outside the tree line for a second and waited further instruction from Allie. She stepped forward and motioned for Brady to follow her. She smiled kindly at Carlisle and Edward. The four of them shook hands then Allie began to address all of us.

"It's nice to see everyone again," she smiled politely and paused to throw me a wink. I grinned at her and was ecstatic that she showed some kind of love.

"I don't want to seem like a cold person but, I want to be as impartial as possible. The decision to revise the treaty lays mostly with our pack and a small fraction with the elders." she explained.

"If you have the main decision why not just make it yourself?," Emmett laughed.

"I'm not a dictator," she said sternly, "The main decision should lie with those who will uphold the treaty."

"Well," he huffed in an offended manner.

She rolled her eyes, "Did you pay Jake?"

"Hell yeah he did," Jake cheered from behind Leah. Leah jumped in surprise and let him pass. She followed him to where Allie stood and they all shook hands.

"So I would like to keep most of the old treaty in tact," Allie told them in an all business tone, "We just need to know why you think that you deserve that."

"Oh stop being so dramatic little sister," Cam rolled her eyes.

She stepped out of the house and made her way over to the circle with Embry and Quil trailing behind her. I shrugged my shoulders and followed after them. As we got closer I could see Allie's rigid posture and deep frown pressed into her face.

"I'm not here to visit big sister," she snapped grumpily.

"Hey did Aunt Carrie give you your birthday present yet?," Cam ignored her happily.

Allie sighed, "Yes Camilla."

"Is yours as cute as mine?," Cam asked and showed Allie the anklet.

Allie's eyes widened and she sucked in a huge breath.

'You were supposed to save it for you're real birthday," She ground out angrily.

"Why?," Cam asked incredulously.

"It was in her letter," Allie hissed, "Did you even read it? It explained all about how important those anklets are!"

"Oh," Cam muttered awkwardly.

"Anyway," Allie huffed, "as I was saying, all we need to know is why you are deserving to stay."

"Well," Carlisle began, "We continue to observe the veg-"

A sharp howl cut him off in mid-sentence. It was new and unrecognizable. The rest of the packs realized this as well and looked at Jake and Allie for guidance. Allie spun on her heel sharply and began giving orders immediately.

"Jared go find Collin and Paul," she ordered, "Get them to find out what's going on and then report back to me immediately."

He nodded and sprinted off into the trees. She turned back to us and gave us a reassuring smile.

"Just a second," she soothed. Jake and Leah were giving each other long looks of concern and then Carlisle and Jake had a hushed conversation. Camilla and Quil were edging closer together with each second. Embry's eyes were wide and terrified. The rest of the Cullen family came shooting out of the house. They all joined the circle and went to their respective partners.

"Allie," Jared called. He ran from the woods and halted in front of her.

"A new wolf just phased," he flushed.

"A new wolf?," Allie clarified with wide terrified eyes. She definitely didn't have a plan for this.

"Who is it?," Jake questioned.

"We don't know," Jared confessed.

"What could you tell," Allie asked.

"It's definitely a girl," he told us quietly. She sucked in a huge breath.

'Okay," Allie said calmly, "I'll go talk to her. When she's calm enough to phase back I'll bring her here and have her make a choice. Does that work for everyone?"

'Nice job," Jake said impressed.

"Thanks," she grinned, "I'm going to go talk to her. We'll continue this in about an hour or so. Brady would you keep all the guys here. Don't let anyone go wolf until I say it's clear."

Brady nodded and she smiled at him kindly. Brady gave her a thumbs up and then pointed to the woods. She rolled her eyes and waved goodbye. She sprinted into the woods and I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that she didn't say goodbye to me.

A second later Allie bolted out of the woods and ran straight at me. She jumped into my arms and kissed me quickly.

'Sorry," she whispered quietly.

'no problem," I grinned. She ran away again and I couldn't stop smiling no matter how hard I tried.

"Awe," Several people cried out and a few retched in disgust.

"Shut up," I smiled.

"What an idiot," Rosalie smirked.

* * *

**ALLIEPOV**

I bolted through the trees at top speed. The new wolf was whining in pain. She was halfway between the Cullen place and La Push. When I found her in a tiny clearing she was curled tightly into a ball. The second her eyes landed on me she sprang to life and growled at me.

"_Calm down," I soothed, "My name is Allie Call. I'm in the same position as you."_

"_Who are you?," she asked nervously, "What's going on here?"_

"_My name is Allie Call," I repeated calmly, "You just phased into a wolf. This is completely normal for Quillute people."_

"_You're lying," she growled._

"_You're right I'm wrong," I said sarcastically. I sat down on my haunches. _

"_what?"_

"_Well according to you, I must turn into a poodle," I joked. She narrowed her eyes at me._

"_What the hell is going on here?" she asked again._

"_Because of you're genes in the Quillute tribe, you are given the ability to become one of the protectors. I guess you know the legends," I told her._

"_That load of bullshit is true?," she asked incredulously._

"_You tell me," I laughed._

"_So can I go back?," she asked nervously. _

"_To human form? You bet," I said nonchalantly, "You need to calm yourself. Focus all of your energy inward."_

_She struggled at first think that this was some crazy dream. After about twenty minutes she was able to focus and phase back. The poor girl hissed in pain and grabbed at her arms and legs. I ran into the woods away from her and phased back. _

I pulled my shorts and shirt on. I walked back into the clearing and threw her my long sweat shirt.

"Put it on," I directed. She did as told.

"What's your name?," I asked.

"Anna Ray," she told me quietly.

'Well Anna, I think I should explain all of this new world to you," I said firmly, "Let's walk."

She stood up and we began to walk further into the woods. The sky was darkening but, not so much that we couldn't see. We walked until we found a small stream of clear water and then we sat down and began the talk that I was dreading.

"I can assume that you know the tribal legends," I asked.

"Yes."

"Well, I bet that you don't know anything about female wolves," I sighed.

She shook her head no so I continued.

"Female wolves are rare in La Push. The first was Leah Clearwater. Then myself followed by my twin Camilla."

"I thought Leah Clearwater went insane after Sam left her for Emily," she asked.

"Not even close," I laughed, "Please don't say that around her. You'll have to put up with her death glares for the next five years."

"So what really happened?," she asked in confusion.

"Sam was the first to phase after two generations. When he did he was dating Leah. Then something called imprinting happened. That's when a wolf finds his true love or soul mate. He couldn't help but, fall in love with Emily. They were made for each other. He had to leave Leah. At first she didn't understand because Sam couldn't tell her about the imprint. After Leah phased they told her all that had happened," I explain.

"That must have been hell to go through," she sympathized.

"It was up until she started dating Embry," I smirked.

"Embry Call?," she questioned.

"Yeah he's my half brother," I said.

"wow," she muttered. I pushed my bare feet into the cool water and watched her confused look.

Anna was a fairly pretty girl. She had long straight hair that would need to be cut. Beautiful light brown eyes and high cheekbones. She was rather tall and slim and had good posture.

We sat in silence for a minute. She was calmly pressing the wet mud along the banks through her fingers.

"Tell me more about this," she ordered softly.

"Well, female wolves are special. We may or may not posses a power."

"Do you have one?," She asked with wide excited eyes.

"Hell yeah," I laughed.

"Could you show me?," she asked.

I nodded and focused my energy into my left hand. I reached out to touch her but my hand passed through her arm. I pulled away from her and then looked down at my legs in the stream. Suddenly they disappeared into the rushing water.

"That's so cool," she praised.

"Thanks," I grinned.

"Do you think I'll have one?," she asked excitedly.

"I'm not sure. Leah doesn't and my sister shares my abilities. There really is no telling," I confessed.

"It's worth a shot," she said optimistically.

"I need to tell you about the packs," I veered away from our power conversation.

"Packs? With an 's'?," She questioned confused.

"Yeah. When Sam Uley decided that they needed to kill Isabella Swan and her unborn vampire child, Jake broke away to protect her. Leah Clearwater and Seth Clearwater followed him. Then Quil Aterea and Embry joined a bit later," I explained.

"What?," she blanched.

I sighed and began to explain about Bella and Edward's romance. Then the birth of Renésme and finally the arrival of myself and Camilla.

"And then I told Rachel "see you later incubator," I finished.

"Really?," she smirked.

"Yup," I laughed.

"So now I have to choose between you and the biased pack or Jake and the vampire pack?," She clarified.

"Yup," I repeated.

"Okay, let's go," She said starting to rise.

"Wait," I told her and pulled her back down.

"We need to talk about a few specifics of being a female wolf," I told her.

"Shoot," she shrugged.

"Well you don't age so you can't have children unless you stop phasing. Females can't imprint on anyone. Someone else has to do that. Although females always have a mate?" I explained timidly.

"Always?," she asked curiously.

"Absolutely," I assured her, "Although, Leah and Embry haven't imprinted officially, I'm almost 100 percent sure that they are meant for each other."

"Can I stop phasing now?," Anna asked.

"You can try," I frowned, "But it is difficult to master when you're so young."

She stared into the stream and thought it over. She looked at me again and gave me a small smile.

"I think I want to be a wolf," She started timidly, "It might be fun."

"You're definitely the first to think of it as fun," I laughed.

"Can we go meet the others now?" she whined.

"Sure," I reached into my pocket and pulled out a piece of rope and handed it to her, "Before you phase tie your clothes to your leg."

She nodded. I turned to walk away from her but, turned back sharply.

"Oh and by the way," I said. I reached out and slapped her across the face roughly. She let out a low growl and I ran off into the thick trees. I phased quickly.

"_What the hell?," Anna growled at me._

"_It worked didn't it?," I laughed._

"_You're so mean," she grumbled._

"_Come on," I urged and then led her to the Cullen's._

_The entire way there we made jokes about each other. When we finally got there I told her to wait a minute so I could get her something proper to wear._

By the time I had phased back, gotten dressed, and made my way onto the Cullen's lawn, Alice was standing there with a piece of fabric draped over her arm. She threw it to me and I nodded back at her.

Anna took the dress and I went back to the others. She came out moments later in a knee length, dark blue, strapless dress. I heard a huge gasp from beside me and I looked at Brady questioningly. The guy had all the tell tale signs of imprinting on his face. The slacked jaw, wide bright eyes, and even the strange hesitation.

Anna gave me a confused look and pleaded for my help with her eyes.

"Stop it," I snapped at Brady. He didn't even twitch.

"Anna," I called quietly and motioned for her to join me.

She timidly made her way to me. I noticed how carefully she moved around Brady. I took her hand in mine and pulled her into the circle.

"That's Brady," I introduced her.

"Hi?," She asked shyly. My eyebrows shot up.

"H- h- hi," Brady stammered. Anna practically dove behind me in fear.

"Calm down would you?," I chastised half-heartedly.

The poor girl nearly jumped out of her skin when Brady held out his hand to shake hers. They quickly shook hands and then retreated as gar away from each other as possible.

"That's a first," I muttered to myself.

"Allie?," Seth asked me in concern.

"Nothing's wrong," I rolled my eyes.

"Why don't you introduce us," Jake prompted.

I nodded at him and pulled Anna to my left side so she wouldn't need to stand next to Brady. I nodded at her a gave a small smile. She returned a weak smile and I arched an eyebrow at her.

"That's Carlisle and his wife Esme," I motioned, "and their children, Rosalie and Emmett, Jasper and Alice, and Edward and Bella."

"Bella from the story?," she clarified.

"All of them," I assured her. She nodded and motioned for me to continue.

"That's Renésme, Edward and Bella's daughter," I motioned again. Renésme waved to her and Anna smiled at her brightly.

"Now for the pack and the imprints," I grinned, "Try to keep up."

"Go for it," She smirked, intrigued by the challenge.

"The alpha is Jake Black. Little Renésme is his imprint. Then there's his beta Leah. She's imprinted with the third in command Embry. Embry is my cousin too. After them, there's my imprint Seth. Finally, there's Cam and Quil. Cam is my twin and Quil is just stupid," I explained.

"Got it," She grinned.

"Mmhmm," I hummed skeptically.

"Now for the La Push pack. That's Sam, Jared, Paul, Collin, and Brady. I'll introduce you to their imprints another time."

She nodded and we all gave her a minute to think.

" Is that everyone?," She asked suddenly.

"Just about," I thought.

"So should I choose now or later?"

"You should talk to the Cullen's and Jake's pack before you make you're decision. I'm afraid I might have influenced you're decision too much."

She shrugged.

"Why don't we all go inside and talk about things?," Carlisle proposed.

"That sounds great," I assured him and then motioned for the others to follow them inside.

Paul shot me a withering look as he passed and I childishly stuck out my tongue at his retreating back. Once my pack and the others had gone inside I shooed Anna after them.

I wasn't surprised that Seth had waited for me. I smiled at him brightly and slipped my hand in his. We slowly made our way up to the house.

"Are you okay?," he asked.

'As I'll ever be," I grumbled.

"Nervous about Anna's decision?," he asked.

"No," I said honestly.

"Then what?"

"Her age concerns me," I sighed.

"How old is she?," He questioned quietly.

"Thirteen," I whispered.

"What?' he nearly shouted.

"Shh," I hissed furiously.

"But-"

"I know! She's way too young to be slaying vampires," I sighed.

"She's _two years _younger than you were. There's not even a reason for her to have phased!," He ranted in a quiet whisper.

"I know," I insisted in a sharp tone.

"ALLIE! SETH!," Rosalie yelled from the door.

"WHAT?," we hollered in unison.

"Jake said to take care of your teenage hormones later and get your asses in here or take double shifts for the rest of the week!," she shouted.

"Jake's not my alpha," I snorted.

"no but he's mine," Seth blanche and took off into a run, taking me with him.

We scrambled into the house and guiltily took our seats. Jake gave us a disdainful look and Seth shifted guiltily. However, I glared at him sharply. Anna was hovering close to the door so I motioned her to sit down next to me. She took the seat but, perched herself on the edge of it cautiously.

"Calm down," I said giving her a comforting smile.

She smiled back and relaxed slightly. Brady hovered close to her and I couldn't help but notice how much more uncomfortable she got around him. It's a simple equation really.

Brady+ Anna= Sad Anna

Brady- Anna= Happy Anna

It had to be the strangest imprint ever. I shared a look with Seth that clearly read, "Can you believe this?" I returned my attention to Jake. He was carefully watching Anna as she played with the hem of her dress.

"Anna?," he asked. She looked up at him.

"Has Allie told you everything about my pack?," He asked briskly.

I arched an eyebrow at him and watched his expression skeptically. Did he think I would try to make her biased against them? How could he even begin to think something like that? I would never even try!

Anna sat up straighter and gave him a bold look.

"She told me parts of Bella and Edward's story then the birth of their daughter and your imprinting. She told me when she and her sister go here and then the decision that led her to become the Alpha of La Push," She told him mimicking his accusing tone.

"If I may Jake," Edward interjected politely.

"Go on," Jake prompted.

"Allie was careful to only tell the parts of mine and Bella's romance that were necessary. She was attempting to respect our privacy and I think she is still as trustworthy as before if not more," He told Jake thoughtfully.

"Well," Jake started.

"You thought I was untrustworthy?," I cut him off angrily.

"It wasn't like that," He attempted to soothe me.

"Really?" I snapped at him, "So you didn't think that I'm a traitor and you didn't need Edward to snoop around to ensure that? Because that's what I just heard!"

"It was just to make sure that-" he said calmly.

'That I'm not attempting to hunt down your precious imprint? That I'm not going to try to murder your new found family? They're my family too Jake! How the hell could you even have that thought?" I ranted.

"I'm sorry but, I had to be sure," he pleaded.

"You're sorry?," I asked venomously. I rounded on Seth, "Did you know about this?"

He backed away from me carefully and measured my expression. My anger intensified stood up furiously.

"We're leaving," I snarled to my pack. They jumped up and nearly ran out of the house.

"Wait," Jake called as I started to walk away. I turned my burning gaze at him.

"We were just concerned about you," he told me.

"You don't have to worry," I snarled, "Now that the traitor is leaving you can be sure your family is safe.

I stomped out of the house furiously and into the forest. I expected that Seth was far too guilty to follow me and try to make me happier. I can't believe I was so stupid. Why would they think I would try to betray them? I have no motive. I have no plan. All I have is a bunch of miscreant wolves.

I wasn't looking forward to phasing. I could practically hear them gloating all ready. However, I'm the alpha and I make call the shots. With that reassuring thought I phased and ran home .

"_I knew it," Paul started._

"_Congrats Paul," I snarled sarcastically. _

"_You should have listened to us from day one," He smirked._

"_Shut up Paul," Sam chastised, "She's been through enough today."_

"_Thanks," I grumbled._

"_I can't believe that they did that to you," Jared sympathized._

"_They really smashed you up," Collin agreed._

"_Honestly, I'm not surprised," I admitted, "I didn't think they ever trusted me."_

"_So what are you going to do?," Brady asked. _

"_Graffiti Jake's house," I grumbled. There was a peel of laughs to this._

"_Really though. What's your plan?," Jared asked._

"_To ignore everyone form his pack," I stated confidently._

"_Even Seth?," Brady asked._

"_Yes," I said halfheartedly._

"_Are you sure about that?" Sam asked in a concerned tone._

_I had to hide my shock at their concern. I expected some type of pain._

"_Now you know what we think of them," Sam told me, "We can trust you."_

_I neared my home and stood in the tree line and stared at it for a minute. The others were gathered around me and it was hard to think clearly with all of their thoughts but, I managed to do it anyway._

"_I'm going to try my hardest to ignore them as much as possible. Tomorrow, I'm going to Seattle to get a massage and do some retail therapy," I groaned painfully._

"_What about Seth?," Brady asked._

"_Ignoring him too," I said, " Locking my door and throwing him his toothbrush._

_Paul pictured my hand throwing Seth a toothbrush from inside my bedroom and then snapping the door shut again. We all laughed at that and I said my goodbyes._

"_Call if you need anything," Collin insisted before running home._

"_Sorry about today," Jared soothed and he left too._

_They each gave me their best wishes before running home. I phased back and ran into the house._

When I got inside I locked the doors and grabbed a tub of ice-cream and a spoon. I went up to our-my room and threw back the sheets. I set down my ice-cream and then grabbed Seth's toothbrush and a pillow. After setting them down on the ground outside I locked the door and flipped on a movie. I hate soap operas.

* * *

**(A/N): Thanks for reading! Hopefully I get a few reviews? Please? They make me happy. **


	9. Lifelessness

**\(A/N): I'm so sorry about the delays in updating. I am afraid this chapter is rather short. I intended to make it so much longer but, ran out of good ideas near the end. **

**ALLIPOV**

I awoke on Sunday morning with a dull headache. I had barely slept an hour the entire night. At five o'clock I decided that I couldn't stay in bed any longer and hauled myself up. I dragged myself into the bathroom and stared at my reflection. My normally bright eyes were swollen and rimmed red from all of my tears. My cheeks were sunken and a scowl stood out firmly.

I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth. Then, I flung open my bedroom door with intent to run down to the kitchen. Although, I stood frozen in the doorframe. The pillow and toothbrush I had left outside the door last night were still in its place. Seth hadn't moved them. He hadn't come home. He hadn't come back to me. Tears welled up in my eyes and I rushed down the stairs to the front door. It was still locked. I ran to the backdoor and checked it. Locked. Seth hadn't come home last night. Didn't he care if I was heart broken?

My silent rampage was cut off by a sharp knock on the door. I wiped at my eyes and went to the front door. I whipped it open to a harassed looking Embry. He looked down at me and then smiled gently.

"You look like hell," He told me softly.

"You don't look so hot either," I grumbled and stepped back so he could enter. He did of course.

He walked past me and down the hall. I rolled my eyes and shut the door and followed him. We entered the kitchen and Embry went straight to the refrigerator. I sat down at the table and watched as Embry bustled around making us breakfast.

"So how was your night?," He asked without taking his eyes from his orange juice.

"Hell," I responded.

"Seth wasn't much better," He admitted with a shrug.

"What do you mean?," I asked before I could stop myself. He arched an eyebrow at me.

"Jake ordered him to stay with me at mine and Leah's place last night. The poor kid was contemplating suicide," He told me although he was carefully judging my expression as he spoke.

I didn't say anything. I couldn't really. I only looked up when Embry placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of me.

"He didn't know Allie," He said quietly.

"Then why didn't he say that?," I asked angrily.

"Because when you're angry you tend to lash out over little things," Embry smiled, "He was trying not to upset you.'

"Well, he failed," I grumbled unhappily.

Embry chuckled darkly and sipped his coffee. I started to notice how stressed he looked. He had dark circles around his eyes and his mouth was set in a thin line.

"Fighting with Leah?," I guessed aloud.

"Yes," He said simply.

"Why?," I questioned.

"You."

"Me?"

"You."

"Why?," I asked sadly. I hadn't meant for this to happen.

"She thinks Jake was right to at least check on how you were handling your new position. I think it was wrong," Embry told me in a sharp and final tone.

"I'm sorry that I-" I started.

"Don't," He cut me off sharply, "It' s not your fault that any of this happened. We all know you didn't want this."

"Then why is Jake against me?," I asked irately, "He kicked me out after all."

"It's only because he's nervous about how you will take this adjustment," He soothed.

"So he thinks I'll go mad with power?," I clarified gruffly.

"He knows you won't," He stated calmly, "he just needs to be positive."

"Fantastic," I grumbled and took a sip of my coffee.

Embry chuckled darkly again and stood up to grab the toast on the counter. He smothered it in butter and returned to the table. He pushed it to me and commanded me to eat.

"Not hungry," I muttered childishly.

"Eat," he ordered again.

'Not until I talk to Seth," I persisted.

"No seeing Seth until you eat," He countered.

"You're not my keeper," I smirked teasingly.

"Eat," He commanded again with a roll of his eyes and a small smile.

I silently picked at the toast with a small smile etched on my face. After a few minutes Embry sighed in defeat.

"Go get dressed," he sighed, "I'll drive you over."

"Thank you," I squeaked in delight and kissed his cheek.

I never managed to make it to see Seth. After a long shower, I decided that if he wasn't ready to see me then I wouldn't push it. It was the smallest gift that I could give him. When Seth decided that he wanted to speak to me then we would talk.

Embry was extremely overjoyed with my decision. He claimed that this was only because I was thinking with my head but, I think he was more relieved that he wouldn't need to go home to a depressed Seth and furious Leah.

We spent the day together in the house. After breakfast we cleaned up the kitchen and surfed the internet looking for a birthday gift for Camilla. We sat idly on the couch together with my laptop perched on Embry's lap. He thought that she would love a necklace to match her anklet and I was sure that she would but, I was far too bitter about her opening it early to want to make her that happy. I suggested that we get her a beautiful white dress with an empire waistline and a long flowing skirt. Embry grumpily rejected this. When I asked him why he grumbled about her not being able to wear white anyways.

After a vain attempt at shopping we decided to make ourselves lunch. However, it really turned out to be me cooking while Embry washed dishes. It was still fairly early so we decided to sit outside on the porch with some ice-cream. We sat outside for hours and got caught up on each others lives. As the sun finally began to set Embry proclaimed with a heavy sigh that he should be getting home. He hugged me tightly and told me he loved me before sprinting into the woods.

I made my way back into the house and plopped down on the couch. I had truly missed Embry during all of those years. As children we were always extremely close. Our family members would joke that we were more like twins than Cam and I ever were.

It was never that I didn't love my sister as much as I did Embry. She is my sister and I _do_ love her. Its just easier for me to talk to and laugh with Embry. We have far more in common than either of us do with Cam. It's true that I can be extremely hard headed and act as if I hate my sister but, that just isn't true. I've always relied on her to understand that I very simply love her but, can be swayed to fight with her often.

The next three days went in the same routine. I would drag myself out of bed at some un-Godly hour, force myself to get dressed, and greet a more and more harassed looking Embry at the door. As each day came he looked a bit more aggravated and a bit more sullen. We would make breakfast together and then talk for a little while. During breakfast, Embry would report to me about Seth's wellbeing. Although, when I would ask about Leah he would clamp his mouth shut and refuse to speak about her.

Tell me is love really infinite? Can you always make more? If that's true then tell me about my imprint. Why has he suddenly run out of love? He hasn't made any attempt to speak to me. His lack of presence has been downright unnerving. He's never been this angry at me before and I just don't know how to fix it. Seth has never even raised his voice at me.

Maybe it's time that I went to talk to him.


	10. Born again

**(A/N): Well, the last chapter didn't do nearly as well as I'd hoped it would. I'm really hoping that this chapter will get tons of reviews. Hint, hint...**

**EMBRYPOV**

My sister was shattered. Completely and utterly destroyed and it was all Seth's fault. If he had only been man enough to tell her that he didn't know about Jake's decision then, she wouldn't have been nearly as angry. She would have calmed immediately and thought rationally before jumping ship.

Each day that we spent together she slipped further and further away. My dearest friend was falling farther and farther from reality. Each day Seth wasn't by her side seemed to reflect on her appearance. Her usual bright and cheery attitude was taking a downturn. Her eyes were unresponsive and tired looking. She remained quiet during conversations and only added a few comments here and there.

To make matters worse, her tormenter was staying under the same roof as I. It was true that Seth was suffering too. Although, he has the freedom to make this right. Jake had made him stay away from Allie for just one night. If he really wanted to justify things with her then he should have gone to her three days ago.

Leah has been absolutely furious with me lately. She thinks that Allie is entirely wrong. I guess that she shouldn't have left so abruptly but, someone should have told her that not all of us knew about this. All of this tension has really been cutting into everyone's relationships. Lines have been drawn amongst couples and within the couples themselves. Camilla and Quil haven't spoken to each other in nearly two days. Seth and Allie are falling apart at the seams. Edward and Bella are arguing and when they fight Nessie gets anxious. When Nessie gets anxious Jake gets angry and confused and , because Nessie can't really explain her feelings clearly she is getting irritated at Jacob. Everyone is fighting amongst themselves and refusing to make any attempt at fixing anything. It seems as if our world is at a standstill and no one but Seth and Allie can fix it. God help us all...

**ALLIEPOV**

The sun had started to rise on the fourth day. I had (of course) been up for hours already. Today was the last day Embry and I had to find Camilla a suitable gift for her birthday. Tomorrow, I would swallow my pride and force a smile onto my face. Then I would surrender a gift to her, mingle for at least twenty minutes, and then run away screaming. Em has been trying so hard to make me happier but, I'm sure that deep down he knows that it's a futile effort.

I hurriedly dressed in a pair of jeans and a Super Man T-shirt. Embry's sharp knock on the door brought me out of my self inflicted sorrow and I grudgingly opened the door. He appraised me with narrowed eyes and nodded in half approval. We took my car to Seattle and scurried through each of the shops.

It had been at least three hours of hunting and we were very near to calling it quits and giving her a gift card. The last shop we decided to look in was a small antique shop that appeared to have seen better days. The room was packed with shelves and boxes of old clothes, knick-knacks, and other useless crap.

I was sorting through the racks of clothes when I found it. The perfect gift for my sister. My materialistic, snooty, spoiled sister. Sitting on a velvet cushion on the counter was a beautiful silver jewelry box. I rushed to it and ran my fingers over the unique grooves and notches. The elegant silver ran around in thick chains that created a smooth, swirling pattern. At the top was an indent of a heart.

"Embry," I called in a soft awed voice.

"What?," He asked and materialized at my side. He looked down at the box and smiled.

"Do you think she'll like this?," I asked quietly.

"Why wouldn't she? It's beautiful," he grinned at me.

"Can I help you with something?," An elderly woman said, stepping out of the backroom.

'Yes please," Embry said politely, "Could you tell us the price on this please?"

"Oh it's two hundred and fifty dollars," she smiled.

"Deal," I agreed hastily before Embry could ruin this, "We'll take it."

"Allie!," Embry hissed at me quietly.

"Hush. I have a lot to make up for," I whispered to him.

The old woman took the box off of the counter and began wrapping it up. We paid quickly and made our way for home. We took the box back to my house and rushed inside. By now it was nearly ten at night. I wrapped the box in another blue box and Embry made an enormous bow and wrote the tag out to Camilla. Satisfied with our work we sat back and in a much better mood than before relaxed. That was until we grabbed the mail at the end of the coffee table.

A thick envelope was sitting amongst a pile of mail. It was addressed to me (duh!) so I ripped it open.

_**Dear Ms. Call, **_

_**It is my pleasure to inform you that your inheritance will be wired to your private accounts by noon on your birthday July 21st. **_

_**I suggest a meeting with myself and your step-mother Renata within two weeks. This is not mandatory of course and I would understand if you did not want to speak with her after her failure as a parent.**_

_**As requested by yourself a sufficient amount of your inheritance has been transferred to your cousin Embry Call's collage fund. I have invested your company stocks in accordance to your wishes and can assure you that they are growing as rapidly as the company. Upon the achievement of certain collage degrees your father's company will be entirely yours. As of now the Board of Directors will continue to run the company in your place. **_

_**Finally it is my greatest pleasure to congratulate you on such an auspicious occasion. Welcome to the adult word Ms. Call! I hope you find it interesting!**_

_**Sincerely, **_

_**Jason M. Greenberg **_

"Well that was depressing," I muttered to myself in disdain.

"What is it?," Embry questioned from the couch.

"Just my lawyer congratulating me on becoming an adult in the most depressing of ways," I smiled at him.

"That's great," He grunted. His focus was centered entirely on some game so I didn't bother to press the matter.

* * *

It was nearly one in the morning. I couldn't sleep and the raging storm outside made matters ten times worse. Lightening was flashing brightly and rain pounded down on the roof. It definitely didn't help to have enhanced hearing right now.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The deafening booms pounded my ears and I shoved my head under the pillow to dull the sound.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

I bolted up in fear. That definitely wasn't the wind. I slid out of bed and tip toed down the stairs with my heart beating frantically in my chest.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Someone was banging on my front door. I carefully pried it open. Outside in the pouring rain stood Seth holding a thermos of unidentifiable substances.

"Uh.. I .. you.. I..," He stammered nervously.

"I.. um.. we..," I returned in the same fashion.

"I felt your fear and exhaustion and I was concerned so I-" He started nervously.

However it was my lips on his that cut him off. He returned it with so much passion that we both fell into the house. We tumbled down to the floor and lay flat on our backs as water made its way into the house.

His dark brown eyes were searching me for bruises and concern was burned onto his face. I burst into a peal of laughter in pure delight. I had truly missed his warm caring eyes and large calloused hands.

Seth looked up at my face again and smiled at me ecstatically. I grinned at him brightly and pecked his lips again.

'It's been four days and the best you can do is give me a tiny kiss," he teased.

"It's called teasing," I smiled joyously, "Maybe you'll stick around long enough to get a real kiss."

"Maybe I'll steal one," He smirked.

"Shut up," I smiled and began to straighten up. We sat up and I reached forward to grasp the thermos in my hands.

"What's this?" I asked him curiously.

"Well I thought that you couldn't sleep and I thought that warm milk might help," he grinned in an almost sheepish way.

'You were going to win me over with food?," I arched an eyebrow at him.

"It was worth a shot," he shrugged.

* * *

Thump. Thump. Thump.

What the hell is that damn annoying sound? I peeked a tiny bit and immediately closed my eyes to what I saw. Sitting on the edge of my bed was my darling sister, and what was she doing? Throwing arm fulls of my clothes on the floor.

I struggled to get free of Seth's muscled arms. The boy was happily snoozing away and completely oblivious to my current annoyance. Great protector my ass...

"Camilla," I groaned, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You really need to get rid of some of these crappy clothes," She smiled, "and aren't you forgetting something?"

"No," I grumbled in annoyance and nudged Seth awake. He groaned groggily and sat up rubbing his eyes.

"Don't you want to say Happy Birthday?" She pouted.

"Not when you're cleaning out my closet," I smiled at her. She returned it easily.

"Ungh," Seth groaned, "What time is it?"

"Five a.m." Cam smiled brightly despite the hour.

Seth and I groaned simultaneously. I slapped a hand to my forehead.

"I nearly forgot," I said feigning innocence, "I don't have your present here! Embry has it!"

"What!," She shrieked and jumped off the bed, "I ran here at the butt crack of dawn and you don't even have my gift?"

"I was joking," I grinned, "But you can stop destroying my closet because it's not in there. I have hidden it well."

"Well where is it?" she screamed excitedly.

"Shouldn't you be home 'celebrating' with Quil or something?" I groaned in an attempt at changing the conversation.

"Didn't you here us last night? Well, I guess you two were kind of busy too," She smirked.

I fell back against the bed and shoved a pillow over my face to hide my embarrassment. Seth and Cam were laughing loudly so I continued in my endeavor to smother myself.

I sighed in irritation and grudgingly got out of bed. I made my way to my dresser and grabbed the elegantly wrapped box on top of it.

"Hidden in plain sight," I muttered to myself in amusement.

I threw it to her and began picking up my clothes from the floor. The loud ripping of paper filled the air and Camilla gasped in delight. She bounded over to me and hugged the life from my body.

"Thank you thank you thank you," She sang in my ear happily.

"You're welcome," I laughed.

"Are you two hungry?," Seth asked us in a bemused voice, "I'll go make us some breakfast."

Camilla released me and followed Seth out the door while continuously blathering on about her gift. He rolled his eyes and shot me a quick wink as he passed me. I smiled at her easy going style and pulled a pair of shorts and a Spiderman T-shirt from the pile on my bed.

After I managed to clean up my sister's mess, I made my way down to the kitchen. Camilla was sitting at the island and still talking. Seth however was standing behind the stove and flipping pancakes with an amused grin on his face. Upon my entry, Seth turned to gaze at me. His grin tripled and I couldn't help but smile at the goofy grin that appeared to be stuck on his face.

"Did you burn anything?," I teased.

He scoffed, "Golden brown is not burned."

'Well this isn't golden brown," Cam complained and held up a pancake the color of charcoal.

I laughed brightly and Seth shrugged sheepishly. I quickly commandeered the construction of the pancakes. About twenty minutes later, Leah, Embry, and Quil showed up bearing gifts. Our early breakfast became a midmorning brunch as we all pitched in to make an enormous birthday breakfast for Cam. Eventually, Brady strolled through the backdoor with Anna. That fact alone shocked Quil so much that he dropped a fresh pot of coffee on Embry's lap. Apparently, they sat outside all night and came to an agreement about the imprint. Although, they wouldn't tell us what they agreed on.

"Alright shut up everybody," Seth called, "Sit down and let's eat."

Leah lit the candle on top of a stack of pancakes and began singing 'Happy Birthday' completely off tune of course. We all joined in and Cam closed her eyes to make a wish. Quil sneakily dumped some syrup on the candle and ousted it. Cam blew hard on the nonexistent flame and opened her eyes. I couldn't hold my laughter and let it burst from my lips greedily. Eventually, the rest joined in and Camilla sat lost in the moment.

Nearly three hours later, I had ushered the boys out of the house. Camilla and I decided that we would spend some time together today. Having most of our sisters around spurred the idea that we should all pamper ourselves in preparation for Camilla's birthday bash later today at the Cullen house. My sister insisted that we invite Emily, Kim, and Rachel along. The suggestion shocked me well enough that I nearly choked to death on a pancake.

"Allie, where the hell do you keep all of your pajamas?," Camilla barked from my bedroom.

"Top drawer on the right side," I called from the bottom of the stairs.

Knock, knock, knock.

I reached behind me and opened the front door. Emily and Kim bustled in with equally bright grins on their faces. They threw me quick hellos and hurried past me and over to the kitchen where Anna and Leah were still laying out food. Rachel followed in with a civil smile on her face and swept past me after Emily and Kim.

I rolled my eyes and followed after them. Leah and Rachel were absently chatting while they flipped pancakes. Emily and Anna were talking over what color dress they were going to where and I eagerly threw in that they needed to choose nail polish to match.

"I was thinking of an icy blue dress," Emily sighed dreamily.

'Sam would love you in blue," Leah smiled good naturedly. I raised my eyebrows at her and she shrugged noncommittally.

"I have the perfect nail polish to match," Kim said amusedly.

"What are you going to wear, Allie?," Leah inquired of me skeptically.

"I'm not really sure," I confessed." I'm caught between a red and a black dress."

"I've always thought that you look better in black," Camilla recommended.

"True but red is my favorite color," I sighed in frustration.

"Seth loves when Allie wears red," Leah seconded.

"But she looks better in black," Rachel argued.

"But she wants to impress her boyfriend after they've been apart for so long," Emily reminded us.

"Anna what are you wearing?," I asked the shy girl.

"I didn't know I was invited," Anna confessed quietly.

"Honey, you're part of the family now. You're always invited," Emily smiled at her and patted her hands softly.

"She's right," Rachel sang.

"I have the perfect dress for you! Brady will just love it!," Camilla exclaimed excitedly.

"I don't want Brady to love it !," She blushed.

Camilla snorted, "Allie it's one of your dresses. Is it okay if I let Anna borrow it?"

"No problem," I shrugged, "You've already raped my closet once today. Twice wouldn't be too bad."

SEVEN HOURS LATER; 7:32 p.m.

"WOULD YOU HURRY UP?," Paul bellowed up the stairs at us.

"Rachel control your man," Leah shot irritably.

She was carefully doing Anna's makeup while Rachel curled her hair. Rachel rolled her eyes and continued with Anna's hair. Emily was carefully pinning my hair but, her shaking hands kept jabbing at me. Kim was helping Cam select the perfect purse and we were no where near ready.

"ARE YOU READY YET?" Paul hollered again.

"SHUT UP!" Rachel finally snapped.

We all paused for a few seconds to wait for his response. There was a still silence before we all broke out in giggles at Rachel's dominance over Paul. Emily jabbed me with a pin again and I yelped in pain.

"Hold still," She insisted.

"I would if you would stop with the acupuncture," I snapped back. She smirked and winked at me playfully.

"All done," She declared finally. I jumped from the torture chamber with a victorious cry. I snatched my strapped shoes and shoved them on as quickly as possible.

* * *

SETHPOV

Seven hours, twenty three minutes since Allie shoved me out the door for 'girl time'. One hour, fifty two minutes is how long we've been waiting for 'girl time' to end so that we can get to the Cullen house.

"How long do we have to wait?," Collin whined.

"Until the girls have finished gossiping," Sam snorted with amusement.

"They told us to be here nearly two hours ago," Collin whined again, "We came on time like they demanded and they're late."

"The guests of honor are going to be late for their own party," Quil grunted unhappily.

"As per usual," Embry grunted in return.

"Why do women take so long to dress? All they have to do is put on a dress and shoes," Collin complained again.

"It's so much more of an effort than that kid," Jared rolled his eyes.

"They have to do their nails, hair, makeup, choose a dress and shoes," Paul muttered disparagingly.

"The outfit alone takes about an hour and a half," I grunted.

"Hair takes another two hours," Embry continued.

"Makeup takes a half hour," Jake snorted.

"Then they have to talk in between which is about three hours," Paul smirked. We all snickered.

"We heard that!," Someone yelled from the top of the stairs.

Surprised at the closeness of the voice we all hopped up and scrambled over to the main entrance. We all sighed hopelessly when we saw that no one was standing there.

"We're ready," Leah giggled from somewhere upstairs.

She descended first. My sister was decked out in a knee length moss green halter dress. Her short bob was artfully blown straight. She gravitated to Embry who gently pecked her lips and twirled her joyously.

Emily came next in another knee length ice blue dress. She was wearing small black heels and her long hair was set in loose curls that framed her face.

Kim and Rachel followed her. Kim's face was scrunched in concentration as she tried not to trip on the four inch heels. She was wearing a midnight blue dress. It was cut at her mid-thigh with thin spaghetti straps. Rachel was dressed in a similar dark pink dress.

Anna descended after them. She was dressed in a strikingly familiar red dress and darker red heels. I remembered that dress because Allie had dragged me along to buy it.

_Flashback:_

"_Can we go now," I whined._

_My feet were sore and I had the worst headache. Allie and I had been shopping for nearly five hours without a break. As much as I loved her she could be excruciatingly girly at times. _

_Allie paused momentarily, then set down the sparkly top she had been examining. She walked over to me and gently caressed my cheek lovingly with a carefully measured expression on her face. _

"_I know that you're tired," She began quietly, "but if we're having dinner with your mom tomorrow then I want both of us to look presentable. I promise that when we get home I'll make you whatever you want for dinner, okay?"_

_I smiled with satisfaction that I had won this battle. However, Allie always wins the war. She smiled at me affectionately and gently kissed my cheek. _

"_I'm going to try these on," She grinned while brandishing scraps of material. She bustled into the changing rooms. I slipped into a chair. Ten outfits later Allie came out in a striking red dress. I whistled lowly in appreciation. Allie giggled and twirled around. _

"_I love it. You look beautiful honey," I smiled brightly. _

"_Thanks," She giggled and went back into the changing rooms._

_End Flashback_

Brady whistled in the same way that I had. Anna blushed a deep crimson and nearly fell down the last step. Brady carefully steadied Anna and picked her up to twirl her around. Brady was making no attempt at disguising his happiness. Anna however, looked like she was going to throw up. When Brady set her down again she looked anywhere that wasn't him but he didn't. He continued to gaze at her with open wonder.

I looked away from the new couple and looked up at the stairs expectantly. Allie and Cam were all that were left now. They appeared at the top of the stairs together with their arms linked together. They were dressed in the exact opposite of each other. Camilla wore a plain white dress the was cut at her mid-thigh and was strapless. Allie wore a black strapless dress that rested a few inches higher than Cam's. Allie's long hair was set in barrel curls they had pinned back and away from her face. However, Cam' s was blown out straight and left free.

At the bottom of the stairs they separated. Allie drifted to me and smiled softly. She gently closed my mouth and then pecked at my lips affectionately. I grinned brightly and captured her lips with a deep kiss.

"Hey! We don't have time for this!," Paul yelled at us. We pulled away from each other regretfully.

"Later," I promised with a tiny smirk. She smirked at me widely.

"Maybe, maybe not," She teased laughingly. I growled at her playfully.

"That's gross," Leah commented slyly.

"Why can't we ever get our moments in our own house?," I asked Allie forlorn.

"Because we always forget to lock the doors," She smiled slightly.


	11. The Snap of the Wooden Spoon

APOV

Seth and I pulled up to the enormous Cullen mansion. As usual we were the last to arrive to the party and we definitely were not on rime. We opened the front door and walked through the house to the backyard.

"Are you sure that you're okay with this?," Seth whispered quietly. I smiled slightly and slipped my hand into his.

"As long as you're with me, I'll be fine," I smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Good," He grinned and pecked my lips quickly.

He threw open the backdoor and tugged me through it after himself. A slight hush fell over the crowd as the Cullen's gazed at me openly. The packs had fallen silent to watch my reaction. Seth silently pulled me closer to his side protectively.

My mind was reeling with swears at the extremely high expectation I'd had just moments earlier. Why was I stupid enough to think that this would be a normal birthday? Nothing is ever simple in my life. Why would that start now?

Through the crowd I could see the clear forms of Edward and Carlisle making their way to us. I carefully steadied myself for a fall. I'd had enough disappointment for a lifetime.

"Allie, myself and the Cullen clan would like to offer our most sincere apologies to you," Carlisle said humbly, "It was never our intent to make you believe that you don't have a family here. You always will have an ally with us."

"Thank you," I whispered quietly.

His words were clear enough. He was apologetic for making me think that they weren't my family. Although, I couldn't make myself believe them. My trust for everyone was shattered, except for Seth of course. As much as I wanted to forgive them, I really couldn't. I couldn't even forgive my former pack members.

"I can understand that," Edward nodded at me respectfully.

"Thanks, that means so much," I muttered sarcastically.

"Just trying to help," He snapped.

'Then stop adding footnotes to my thoughts!," I hissed angrily.

"Edward," Bella muttered and stepped up beside her husband. She lay a soothing hand on his arm and gave him a stern look.

"You can be kind of annoying with that," Jake commented.

"It's true. Just try living with him for a hundred years," Emmett threw in.

Camilla rolled her eyes and reached for my arm. She pulled me into a tight hug. I jumped in surprise and tenderly returned her hug.

"I can't believe we're finally eighteen," She gushed happily.

'I'm not eighteen yet," I reminded her cheekily.

"Allie it's ten o'clock. Two hours isn't going to make that much of a difference," She laughed.

"Maybe I'll learn an important life lesson in two hours!," I defended vehemently.

"You haven't learned a thing in eighteen years. What could you possibly learn in two hours?"

"That sisters are incredibly annoying."

"Don't I know it."

We gave each other a sideways look and began to laugh. She hugged me again and then steered me to an empty table. We sat down away from the prying eyes of the crowd. I finally took a moment to look around. The entire color scheme was done in black and white. The ceiling of the enormous white tent had been draped with layers of black, silvers, and white tulle. A similar fabric was hung along the outsides of the tent and acted as a form of walls. Tiny white lights had been strung all over the room. There were several large circular tables that were dotted around the space. Each one sporting black table cloths and a bouquet of rich red roses. The dance floor in the center of the room was elegantly decorated with a monogram of a wolf.

A tiny smirk began to form on my lips. Camilla took notice of this and gave her own tiny smirk.

"Have you seen the gift table in the back?," She asked and nodded her head in the direction behind me.

I spun my chair to look behind me. On the back wall a long pair of tables had been set up. One was filled with food. The other oval shaped one was piled high with gifts. My eyes widened in surprise and I looked back at Cam. She was grinning manically at me.

"Is. that..?," I stuttered in shock.

'All for us? Hell yes," She smiled crazily.

"If there's half for you and half for me?"

"Then we each get about thirty presents." She answered me.

"And we," I gulped, "Get to keep them?"

"Mmhmm," She muttered.

"Oh. My. God." I gasped.

We gaped at the table like brain dead idiots for at least ten minutes. Finally Alice came over and hit us. After we got done trying to kill Alice the party began. Seth and I danced endlessly. Camilla and I laughed together nonstop. I managed to bond a bit with Rosalie. Sam even spoke to Edward without trying to hit him.

After about an hour and half, Alice turned down the music and declared that Cam needed to cut her cake. Being that it was the last half hour of her birthday. We all sat down while Cam made her way to the center of the dance floor with Quil. Esme wheeled a giant black and blue cake out to the slow tune of 'Happy Birthday'

"Make a wish!," Embry shouted gleefully. I skewered him with my eyes skeptically. He gave me an innocent look and glanced at Emmett who had the same wicked look in his eyes.

Camilla closed her eyes and blew hard on the mess of candles. Not a single candle went out. She opened her eyes and glared at the candles. She turned to give me a hard look but I shook my head no with a tiny smirk on my lips. I jerked my head to Embry who was cowering behind Leah. She shot him a withering look and glanced back at me.

'Later," She mouthed to me. I grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright everyone," Alice announced in a strangely loud voice, "It's time for Allie to cut her cake."

Seth carefully took my hand and helped me up. Loud howls came from my pack and I laughed at the sour look on Seth's face. I gently patted his face and made my way to where Cam had stood moments before. Camilla herself stood there waiting to engulf me in yet another hug.

"Congrats," I whispered to her. She squeezed me tighter.

"Back at you little sister," She giggled and pulled back.

"Wait," I called to her and grasped her wrist. She stopped and gave me a confused look.

"Thanks for being such a bitch and making me come here," I smiled.

"Anytime," She giggled and hugged me again. She fled off with Quil to the tables and pulled out her camera. Alice counted down the minutes and then signaled Esme. Esme began to wheel out the next cake while singing.

"Happy Birthday to you," She started. Soon the room was filled with a chorus. The Cullen's sang each note with perfection while others were horribly off key. Brady and Collin preferred to simply howl the notes.

I closed my eyes and thought for a moment. What do I want in life? Money? Done. A great boyfriend? Done. My Dad? I didn't need him now. I still loved and missed him but, I was happy and learning to move on. A mom? Well, can't miss what you never had. A beautiful family? Done. There was nothing that I needed. I opened my eyes and looked around. Everyone was still singing. My gaze shifted around unsurely until my eyes landed on Edward, Bella and Nessie.

I knew what I wanted. I wanted to have a life and family with Seth. Maybe not at this moment but, I want to be with him forever and ever and ever. I wanted to raise a family with my amazing boyfriend. I closed my eyes and blew hard on the candles. Loud applause greeted my ears. I peeked slightly. All the candles were out. I opened both of my eyes and grinned joyously.

Seth gently placed the knife in my hand and then guided it down to cut the cake. Unlike Cam's cake, my cake was true to the overall theme. It was a black and white checker board pattern with red roses painted to it. Seth leaned down and gently captured my lips. His kiss was soft and gentle. It was almost as if he thought I would break in his arms.

We broke apart when someone plucked the knife from my hands and clucked their tongue disapprovingly. I pulled back and grinned madly at Seth. On my left Edward had begun helping Esme cut up and distribute the cake.

"So what did you wish for?," Seth asked while grinning madly.

"I can't tell you or it won't come true," I teased lightly.

Edward snorted, "It'll come true regardless."

"What did I say about the footnotes on my thoughts?," I rolled my eyes at him.

"Just trying to help," He repeated and swept away bearing a tray of cake.

I rolled my eyes and then returned them to look up at Seth. He grinned goofily at me and kissed me quickly again.

"Tell me," Seth commanded.

"No, it won't come true," I insisted.

"Edward said it wouldn't make a difference," He whined impatiently.

"Edward also listens to classical music and spends his spare time playing dolls with Nessie," I rolled my eyes.

"Please," He begged with an exaggerated pout.

"No," I insisted.

"Please," He breathed quietly in my ear.

"Nope," I said mimicking his breathy tone.

"I'll get it out of you," He grinned at me impishly.

"Good luck," I muttered sarcastically.

"Don't need it," he assured me cockily.

I rolled my eyes and took a slice of the decadent cake from Esme's waiting hands. I smiled thankfully and rejoined Camilla and Embry at our table.

After the cake was eaten and we managed to refrain from killing Emmett for his terrible jokes we finally got to open our presents. Being as kind as I am I agreed to open them at the same time as Cam.

I got a new three new pairs of incredible shoes from Sam and Emily, Rachel and Paul and Edward and Bella. Jake, Quil, Brady and Collin all teamed up and got me a gift card to my favorite boutique in Port Angeles. I was so happy that I actually jumped out of my chair and did a happy dance. Jared and Kim got me a certificate for a massage at this really high end day spa in Seattle. Alice and Jasper bought me an amazing dark green velvet dress. Anna gave me a new cashmere sweater. Carlisle and Esme gave me a vintage leather bound book of legends about shape shifters. It was more interesting than you'd expect. Leah gifted me with a box of eggs. Seriously, a big box of twenty unborn chickens. Everyone was laughing so hard that they didn't see Leah and I chuck them at Emmett. When Rosalie dropped a long white box tied with a scarlet ribbon in front of me I raised my eyebrows at her. She gave me a teasing smirk and watched as I pulled off the top. Under a mass of matching scarlet tissue paper was an outrageously scandalous piece of sexy red and black lingerie. Let's just say that it left little to the imagination. I blushed so hard that I thought I would pop a blood vessel. I shoved it back in the box in embarrassment.

"Woo hoo!," Emmett cheered and plucked the offending garment from the box. He showed it all around the room before Collin snatched it and wore it as a hat because he couldn't get it to fit over his body.

My final gift came from Embry and Cam. They paired up to get me a silver ring. Each of them had a similar one that they wore on different ways. Embry wore his as it was intended while Cam had slung it on her anklet. I slipped it on my necklace and wore it like that. At the end of the night I was way too exhausted to drive. The Cullen's were just as perky as usual and it couldn't have annoyed me more. Regardless, I hugged everyone and thanked them profusely. After such a beautiful night I didn't at all expect what would happen the next day.

* * *

"_I've got sunshiiiinnnnneeee," _Seth sang at the top of his lungs from the shower.

I laughed, rolled my eyes at his off key singing and hurried downstairs to make us breakfast. I had just finished making a stack of waffles when Seth ran in with my phone in his hand and his toothbrush in his mouth.

"It's for yoooouuu," He sang beaming at me. I took it from his hands.

"Hello?," I asked distractedly because Seth had stolen my plate and I was busy swatting him with the spatula.

"A-allie?"

"Anna?," I gasped in shock at her broken tone. The spatula dropped lifelessly onto the counter and Seth glared at the phone in my hand intensely, all traces of laughter gone.

"Honey is that you?," I asked

"Y-yes," She sobbed.

"What's wrong sweetheart?," I begged her to tell me.

"Jake said that it was o-okay for m-me to tell my parents about everything and they ki-kic-kicked me out," She cried.

Before I could react Seth snatched the phone from my hand and demanded that Anna tell him where she is and that she was staying with us. He looked at me once for confirmation and with a tiny jerk of my head he ran off to find her, dropping the phone into my hands quickly. I followed after him in a dumb struck state.

"How the hell could those Rey's just kick out their kid?," He roared furiously.

My eyes widened in shock and I took a step back gingerly. I had never seen Seth so angry about anything. He caught my frightened look and paused while reaching for his keys. He sighed.

"I'm sorry," He apologized quietly.

'Would you shut up and go get her," I smiled letting him know that I was okay. He smiled softly and kissed me quikly before darting out the door.

I nearly ran upstairs to Camilla's old room. When she left she took most of her things with her but, a few books and old pictures remained. I grabbed one of the boxes in the corner and began piling all of Cam's belongings into it. I finished that and crammed the boxes into the attic and then put on fresh linens. They were a soft baby blue that contrasted with the midnight blue walls.

"Allie?," Seth called from the door.

"Bedroom," I muttered quietly.

A moment later both he and Anna appeared in the doorway. Seth was shooting Anna concerned glances from behind her. Anna's eyes were rimmed a bright red while her frame trembled. Seth set down Anna's bag at the doorframe.

"Anna, honey," I said softly.

She tumbled into my arms and sobbed into my shoulder. I cradled her gently and mouthed Brady's name to Seth over her shoulder. He nodded with relief evident on his face. He was never very good with tears.

Anna and I stayed in her room for a good twenty minutes before she was calm enough to collapse on the bed in exhaustion. She slept peacefully for ten minutes before a heart-breaking howl shattered her illusion of peace; the howl no doubt from Brady. She sat up and sobbed again for another ten minutes before Brady himself arrived. Then I was not so graciously tossed out while Brady 'consoled' Anna. However, I don't see how that's possible if she won't look at him let alone speak. Imprints work in mysterious ways I guess.

Seth was waiting for me in the kitchen with a somber look on his face. I sat down beside him at the table and took the cup of tea he offered with a forced smile.

"So?," Seth questioned me with a raised eyebrow.

"So what?," I asked in confusion.

"Is it okay with you if Anna stays here for a while?," He said quietly as if asking my permission.

"Of course, Are you okay with this?," I asked in the same confused tone.

"Absolutely," he agreed instantly.

"Are you sure?," I pressed to be positive.

"Are you?," He countered.

'Of course, she's just a kid and needs us right now," I responded vehemently.

"Well I'm all for this," He sat back with a small grin playing on his lips.

"Good. Tomorrow I'll take her to Port Angeles and get her some new clothes," I offered.

"I'll get the rest of Cam's stuff out of the bedroom and put it in the attic," He told me.

"Great," I smiled.

"You should probably take Brady with you," He advised me.

"I guess I could offer," I said thoughtfully, "I'm just not sure if that's what Anna wants."

"She hasn't kicked him out yet so, I guess she must be okay with him right now," He grinned.

I rolled my eyes, "Not yet but, he is not sleeping in that tiny twin bed with her."

"He's not sleeping over at all," Seth argued.

I smirked a tiny bit. He really is cute when he's being overprotective.

"He can take the couch if he wants," I rationed with a sharp look in his direction.

"Fine," Seth grumbled and cowered under my icy look.

I smirked at him victoriously. He caught my gaze and gave me a mischievous look paired with playful growl. I giggled and stood up to refill my cup of tea. His eyes followed me to the stove and his lips were quirked up in a devilish smirk.

"Allie? Seth?," Brady called.

Seth's smirk fell and he jumped up quickly.

"Kitchen," I muttered as Brady came bursting in nearly breaking my door.

I snatched a wooden spoon off the counter and brought it down with a sharp thwack on Brady's shoulder. He howled in pain and Seth gulped down a laugh.

"OWW! What the hell?," Brady moaned in pain.

I narrowed my eyes at him and threw the broken spoon in the trash. Seth continued to force down his laughter while Brady massaged his back.

"I don't care what the hell is going on in the world but, you better not destroy my house!," I shouted.

"Damn, sorry," He muttered still nursing his wound.

Seth couldn't hold down his laughter any longer and it burst out with a loud boom. I rolled my eyes at the two of them and motioned for Brady to tell us what he needed.

"I was wondering if it would be okay for me to sleep on the couch tonight?," He grumbled.

"As long as you don't break it and you stay out of Anna's bed," I smiled.

"Thanks," he grumbled again.


	12. Daddy's Doom

ALLIEPOV

"Are you sure about this?," Seth asked for the tenth time.

'Yes," I insisted, "I've got to go."

I shoved a couple of shirts into my suitcase and moved to start grabbing for my bathing suits. Seth stood beside me and plucked out the shirts. He laid them down and began to fold them calmly and neatly with a pensive look on his face. I rolled my eyes at him and folded a pair of jeans.

"Why can't you just tell Cam and Embry?," He asked me again.

"Because," I huffed impatiently, "They wouldn't support me. They would just chew my ear off about it."

"If you say so," He muttered skeptically and took the jeans from my hands. He placed them alongside the shirts and then put in my black bikini.

"What about Anna?," He asked me suddenly.

"I don't know," I grumbled and rubbed my eyes sleepily.

Late last night I received a frantic phone call from Mrs. Alcott; the woman renting Aunt Cora's old house in Florida. Late last night(early for me) someone had broken in. Mrs. Alcott had woken up to her house in chaos. Thankfully, she was safe and there were no major damages.

Anyway, the terrified Mrs. Alcott called the police and then me. I had told her that I would fly out as soon as possible. I also promised to tell Camilla, the owner of the house but, that's a whole different story. After I finished with Mrs. Alcott I woke up Seth at about four in the morning. He immediately protested my going anywhere without him so, I asked him to come along.

I would tell Camilla but, only after I got to check out the house first. After Camilla's extremely suspicious behavior about our parents, I think it would be best to tell her after my little trip. My cover story would be that my step-mother was stirring up a little trouble so, I was flying out to New York to settle it.

"Well?," Seth prompted me.

"Hmm? Oh, Anna. Well, she can come along too," I shrugged.

"No, no, no," Seth shook his head, "If you bring Anna then you have to bring Brady-"

"And I need Brady here to watch the pack," I finished for him, "Damn."

He nodded at me in a reserved manner. I looked down for a second to collect my thoughts.

"I guess Anna could stay here," I resolved.

"Alone?" Seth barked, "With her and Brady getting closer by the minute? I don't think so."

"Well why not," I argued, "Anna's very mature!"

"Because I don't want to have a pregnant werewolf in this house until she gets married," He nodded.

I raised my eyebrows at him, "She's thirteen, she's not having sex."

"Don't say that word!," He hissed.

"Why? We-" I giggled.

"LA LA LA! I CAN' T HEAR YOU!," He covered his ears and sang loudly.

"Shhh," I giggled and swatted him with a sandal, 'You'll wake her up!"

He dropped his hands and glowered at me. I smiled at him cheekily and gave him a gentle peck on the lips.

"She's not staying here alone," He said with a tone of finality.

'Well, I'll just call my sister and have her stay with Anna," I ceded to him.

"That's better," He agreed. I gave him another peck on the lips to seal the deal.

'What if Anna wants to come with us?," I sighed.

"As long as Brady isn't coming with us. I will not have them sleeping under the same roof."

Anna decided to stay back and hang out with Cam. Seth was more than ecstatic that Brady hadn't joined us for breakfast today. After we were all fed and I had given Anna an emergency credit card, the keys to Seth's car, and helped her pack a bag full of the clothes we purchased in Port Angeles, I called my sister. She was more than happy to look after Anna for a few days. I could tell that she wanted more details about my trip but, I wouldn't tell her much. I would just feign anxiousness.

Two hours later, everyone was dressed with their bags packed and loaded in the car. I pulled out of the driveway and turned down the street to drop off Anna at Cam and Quil's place.

"Remember that you can only use my car if it's a serious emergency," Seth warned.

"I know," she rolled her eyes.

'You might look like your sixteen but, you're not. I don't want to get a call about any reckless driving," He continued in the same 'parenting' voice.

'Okay," She smirked.

"And no giving Cam and Quil a hard time," He ranted.

"Seth leave her alone!," I laughed, "She's not a baby! She can manage just fine."

"Thank you!," she sighed in relief.

"And Brady is not allowed to be with you in your room alone! Especially with the door closed!," He exclaimed.

Seth gave her a hard look and Anna blushed a deep red.

"We haven't even kissed," She blushed.

"Well, don't do that," He commanded, "Never ever."

"Seth leave the poor girl alone," I giggled.

I pulled into the driveway of Cam's house and Camilla flew out like a bird on steroids. Anna was grateful to run from the car and dive into the house. Seth and I got out of the car at a much slower pace while laughing.

"What's her problem?," Cam asked confused as she took Anna's bag from Seth.

"Seth told her that she's not allowed to have Brady alone with her in her room when the door is closed." I giggled.

"Really?," she laughed.

"Can we go?," Seth teased.

"Yeah," I sighed as my laughter died down.

"See you in a couple of days," Camilla said and pulled me into a hug.

"Yeah take care of our girl," I hugged her back. She released me and then hugged Seth.

"Don't let Brady near any beds while Anna's in the house," he warned her.

"Sure thing," She giggled and released him.

* * *

We landed in Florida at two in the afternoon. Seth and I took a cab to our beautiful beach resort that was only about a fifteen minute walk from Mrs. Alcott's house. We checked into our hotel and then started off for the house. When we arrived, Mrs. Alcott's house was in disarray. It seemed like everything in the thief's path had either been destroyed or taken.

Mrs. Alcott herself was a widowed woman in her late fifties.. She wasn't exactly a quiet person or a calm one for that matter.

"Mrs. Alcott, would it be okay for me to look around the attic for a minute?," I asked politely.

"Of course sweetheart," she cooed.

"The attic?," Seth asked.

"Oh, yes," Mrs. Alcott started in an excited tone, "After Cora's passing, bless the dear woman's soul, the girls didn't know what to do with all of their family's possessions because they had no real connection to them. At least not like their parents did. So the girls wondered if they could still keep the in the attic while renting, and I had no problem with that. After all it's not like I have a nice strong young man like you to help me around the house!"

I stifled a giggle, "Couldn't have said it better myself."

"Yeah, um, I'll just go with you _honey," _He said awkwardly shrugging away and up the stairs.

"He's gorgeous darling," she smiled, "but he needs to laugh more."

"I'll let him know," I giggled and hurried after Seth.

I met Seth at the top of the stairs. I showed him my old room, Cam's and Aunt Cora's. I walked down the hall to pull down the ladder to the attic but it had been pulled right off the wall and lay in a mass of wreckage. I looked over at Seth almost tearfully.

"Give me a boost," I instructed.

He cupped his hands and helped me up into the attic. I pulled myself the rest of the way in and stood up in the somewhat dark room. There wasn't much light from the small window but, it was enough to see. Dust covered every surface and despite the clutter, it looked completely undisturbed from when I had last seen it at least three years ago.

Seth hoisted himself in and looked around the room with a calculating expression on his face. He wrinkled his nose and swiped his finger across an old box. He grimaced and wiped his finger on his jeans.

"This place needs a housekeeper." He whined.

"Shut up and help me look around," I commanded.

"What are we looking for?," he grumbled.

"I don't know," I sighed in exasperation, "Anything that talks about my father or my mother."

"That could take a while," Seth commented and looked around at all of the clutter.

"Well, we put most of the really old family records in the back but, I don't really remember packing anything about anyone younger than my grandmother," I mused thoughtfully while I maneuvered around.

"Then Cam must have packed away the stuff about the last few generations, right?," He asked.

"That's the problem," I frowned, "I don't know if Aunt Cora or Aunt Carrie ever had our story written."

'What do you mean?," He asked in confusion.

"All the records of people in our family have a small piece written by someone else, typically the mother, about their parentage and birth," I explained.

"Really? So why wouldn't you have that record," He asked.

"My mother died giving birth," I told him, "She probably didn't have the time to write about us. And I don't think that my aunts ever wrote for us either."

"Then why bother looking?," He asked in a soft, understanding voice.

I turned to look at him calmly, "Because, I need to know the last person alive in our family that _would_ give me some information."

After about an hour of searching we decided that we should stop for a lunch break. The earliest person I could find was my great-great grandfather, Shikoba. He really didn't give much help in finding later ancestors because he had about seven kids. I would have stayed longer but, Seth pointed out that Mrs. Alcott would get suspicious. We left and went to lunch together and then to the beach. It was Seth's first time on the East Coast beaches so it was exciting to see him having so much fun. Although, we both missed the rush of cliff diving.

As the sun hung low in the sky and the beach-goers drifted home, I called my sister. I told her that Mrs. Alcott had called me while I was on the flight. I told her that I would fly down to Florida because it was only an hour flight for me, while it was a six hour flight for her. I also claimed that it would be a fun mini vacation. She happily agreed and thanked me profusely. Speaking to her left me depressed and guilty for deceiving her.

Late into the night, Seth and I broke into Mrs. Alcott's house. With night as our cloak we scaled the house, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. I carefully pushed open the old window that I had intentionally left cracked earlier in the day. I forced my way in with my flashlight in hand. Landing lightly on the balls of my feet, I froze and listened carefully. Mrs. Alcott was snoring softly with steady deep breaths. I signaled Seth to come in and moved to where I had left off earlier today in our search.

This time it only took a half hour to find what I had been hunting for all along. In a faded old hatbox were two birth certificates. One was Aunt Cora's, the other was Camilla's. I set Aunt Cora's back in the box and aimed the flashlight down at Cam's.

Born July 20th

Carolina Vanessa Call

Mother- Calista Pamela Call

Father- Joshua Levi Uley

Joshua Uley, the bastard son of a bitch sperm donor that ruined the lives of the Call and Uley families. Is that what Cam has been keeping from me? Did she know or could it have been something entirely different? Why wouldn't she tell me something this important?

Anger coursed through my veins, reaching every part of my body. I threw the birth certificate down and made a break for the window. I leapt through the small opening and phased in mid air, leaving Seth confused behind me. I landed on my feet and halted myself. There were too many houses around. I couldn't just run like in La Push. I ran to the shade of a tall tree and waited until I saw Seth slide from the house. His eyes were darting around to find me. When they did land on me he ran to me in his human form. He pulled off his shirt and turned waiting for me to phase back.

I concentrated as hard as possible on remembering earlier today at the beach. Just Seth and I for the first time in so long. It took me a minute to calm myself enough to get back to my human form. When I did, I was shaking uncontrollably. I took the shirt and pulled it on. Seth turned and engulfed me tightly in a hug. I let my head fall against his chest in desperation.

"It's going to be okay," He promised in a steady voice.

"No, it won't be," I hiccupped.

'why not," He asked

"Because I'm about to lose my sister," I sobbed hopelessly.

"No you won't," He promised.

"Yes, I will," I cried, "She's never going to forgive me for this."

"She doesn't need to forgive you," He reasoned, "You had a right to know."

"She won't see it that way," I explained forlorn, "I broke into her house, lied to her and went against her wishes. What kind of sister am I?"

"You're the best sister," He insisted, "Cam has to understand that you really needed this."

"I'm not sure if this is what she was even keeping held back," I said.

"It doesn't matter now," He persisted, "You got what you needed to know."

"But at what cost?"


	13. The missing piece of the equation

APOV

**Hiding in Hell**

I had been avoiding all of my siblings for the past week. And I do mean _all _of my siblings, including Sam. I had started focusing all of my energy into Seth and Anna. It had been surprisingly easy. It was almost too easy for me to forget about my family and focus on my own home. It would have worried me more if I hadn't been so concerned about what Camilla was up to.

I really wasn't too concerned about anything else until Friday morning. You see, every Friday night Seth and I host movie night. All of the packs members from both sides attend and my siblings were no exception. I was extremely nervous about seeing my sister because I knew that I would have to talk to her eventually. Seth had been pressing me to ask her about my findings constantly. His favorite times to ask would be when I was in the shower or reading or even cooking. He had become such a nuisance that I took to hitting him with whatever was in my reach. I had already broken a vase, a lamp, and a bottle of juice on him. He had become less frequent in the last few days.

Anyway, on Friday morning I awoke in a frenzy. I had ceded to Seth and told him that I would indeed talk to Cam tonight. I was so nervous that I cooked from dawn to dusk. Not that Seth minded of course. He had never been more well fed in his life. Anna pitched in and offered to help clean the house while I cooked compulsively. By seven that evening, every surface in the kitchen had been covered with a bowl of food. People began to arrive so I went and changed into my favorite pair of red and black flannel pajama bottoms and a black top.

My sister came in just as I finished off upstairs. I hugged her tightly knowing full well that she was going to hate me in a minute. I smiled brightly at her but her observant eyes picked apart my carefully placed expression. She frowned at me as she saw through my facade. Cam chose to disregard my strange appearance at least for now.

"Hey Allie?," Jake called, "Where's my special plate?"

I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen. People were all crowded in trying to get to the mass quantities of food. Jake was hunting in the cabinets for his special plate. I nudged him over and reached to pull out the plate.

"Here," I smirked and handed him the special Batman plate.

"Thanks," he grinned and sped off to gloat to Quil and Embry.

"Let's start the movies," Quil suggested and people murmured in agreement.

They all drifted slowly out the door and into the living room. I followed after hem and set up the tiny projector while Embry set up the screen. This week it was Anna's turn to pick a movie. Everyone was trying to influence her decision. The girls, with the exception of myself, Leah, and Rachel, all wanted to watch a romantic comedy. The boys all wanted to watch and action and adventure movie. I personally wanted to watch a horror movie so that the loud noises would cover my screams when Camilla kills me later.

Anna decided that she wanted to watch a comedy so they popped it in and I took in a deep breath and calmed myself. When everyone was focused on the movie I signaled Cam to follow me into the kitchen.

We stood silently for a moment, just looking at each other. We were so similar in every aspect possible. The same perfectly straight dark brown hair, slightly tanned skin, large golden brown eyes framed by long dark lashes, and plump red lips to top it off. Anyone could see that we were twins but, it was one fine detail that set us apart. My unnatural ability to screw things up and hers to hide the mess.

"What's going on?" She whispered to me quietly.

"I know about Sam," I said almost silently.

"Are you going to tell him?" She asked almost nervously.

"Not in the near future," I answered her curiously.

"Good," She muttered to herself.

'Why?" I asked.

"That kind of information could cause a big mess," She told me tensely.

"I know. I'm not going to tell him yet. How do you know about this?"

'It's a long story," She said morosely.

"We only have an eternity to talk about it," I pointed out sharply.

"Right," She smiled painfully, "Let's get back to the party."

She swept back into the living room full of our clueless friends and family. I stood by myself and collected my thoughts. She had know before me and hadn't said anything to anyone. Well, that's not true. She had probably told someone. Most likely Embry, Quil or some other long lost relative that she had been hiding. My breath faltered at the thought of doing this _again. _With an intense headache forming, I stumbled back into the living room. Everyone was still watching the movie with ignorant joy on their faces. I kept my head down and slipped silently into Seth's waiting arms. I snuggled in closer to his warm chest and closed my eyes.

"Cam and Quil just left," Seth murmured into ear softly. My eyes snapped open and I looked around the room for them. They really were gone.

"How long?" I asked quietly.

"A minute before you came in," He answered.

"Damn."

* * *

The next day I stayed in bed until noon. Seth and Anna had gone off early this morning to fish and I had declined their offer to join them. I finally dragged myself out of bed and made myself lunch. It was around the time that I had finished making myself a few sandwiches that Jake burst through the backdoor.

"Have you seen your sister?," He demanded furiously.

"Not since last night. Why?"

"She and Quil are missing. They both ditched patrols, aren't answering their phones, and aren't home," he fumed.

"She left?" I blanched speaking more to myself than Jake.

"Looks like it. Seems like Quil is with her though," He stated gruffly.

"She just left me?" I muttered oblivious to him.

"I can't believe that they just took off without any warning, " He exploded, "I've got everyone in my pack out looking for them! I only got a hold of Seth and Anna an hour ago! Why didn't he call you and give you a heads up?"

'She left without me? She- she just left?" I faltered.

"Allie?" Jake asked me in a much more calm and concerned voice.

"She left me," I spluttered," Gone, vanished..."

"Allie?"

* * *

"Allie? Sweetheart? Baby? Angel? Cutie pie? Love? Darling?"

Seth, always my Seth by my side. It was unfair to ignore him. I know that's true but, I can't pull myself to speak to him. I have no idea how long I've been sitting in this one position only thinking of my sister. She left me. that was nearly the only thought I had. She left me. She left me. She _**left **_me.

Throughout my life Cam had nearly always been my one constant. I've moved dozens of times, changed parents, names, styles, and the people I surround myself with. However, she was never far behind. Cam is my big sister. She's the one that always supported me no matter how wrong I was. We always fought to the death to help the other. But now... Now she left me without warning. She left without a clue or sign for me.

I selfishly wish that she would come back for me but, if she's happy can I do that to her? Would I want to? I just want to know that Cami is okay.

"Allie, baby, please just say something?" Seth pleaded with me.

"She left me," I mumbled dumbly.

"Thank God! She finally spoke!," Alice exhaled in annoyance.

"Baby?" Seth confirmed with a soft look in his eyes.

"SHE SPOKE?" Emmett hollered from somewhere in the Cullen mansion.

"Yes," Alice yelled back, "That's seven hours and twenty-three minutes!"

"She couldn't have waited another half hour?" Emmett pouted as he strolled in the door of the golden guest room.

"Apparently not," Jasper smirked and held out his hand, "Pay up."

"How much?," I asked Edward silently.

Edward stood in the corner of the room and chuckled.

"Three thousand dollars that you wouldn't talk before eight o' clock. Six thousand that you wouldn't speak until tomorrow morning." He shook his head.

This time I didn't speak out of shock. They really bet three thousand dollars on me? What idiots.

"Allie? Angel?" Seth questioned me again.

"I'm fine," I mumbled and gently ran my fingers through his silky smooth hair.

"Are you sure?" He clarified.

"Mmhmm," I sighed tiredly.

I silently laid my head down on his chest and closed my eyes. All around me everyone was arguing and whining about winning and losing the bet but, it quickly faded around me as I slipped back into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Call off the search," I ordered Jake later that evening.

"Are you out of your mind?" Jake spluttered thoughtlessly.

"No," I replied in a calm and even tone, "Call them off. I've already done mine."

"Have you forgotten that your sister and Quil could be hurt or in danger?"

"I'm positive that they're not," I said in a sing song voice.

"How are you sure of that?"

"I would know that they were. I would have a gut feeling if my sister were actually in danger. However, I've had none and if she was she would have found a way to tell me by now."

"It's only been about twelve hours!" Jake roared, "How could they have contacted us if they're being held against their will?"

I sighed heavily in annoyance, "I said that _she _would contact _me. _Just trust me okay? I know that she- _they- _are fine."

He stood still for a long moment. Silently looking down at the floor he thought it over. Then he slowly looked up at me and nodded. He stood up from the couch and strode out the back door and into the cool summer evening. I rolled my eyes at him and plopped down on the couch. I flung my legs across it and threw my arm over my eyes to block out the light. My eyes were stinging furiously from the amount of crying I had done in the past few hours but, I was refusing to sleep for fear that I would never wake up again. A moment later the lights around the room had been turned off.

"Thank you," I muttered quietly.

"Your welcome," Edward replied smoothly and I heard him sweep from the room.

It seemed like only seconds later when a cool hand touched my shoulder. I could tell that it was Nessie because her arm was several degrees cooler then that of the vampires.

"Auntie Allie?" She asked in a small voice.

"Honey, we've been over this hundreds of times. I'm not your aunt. It's okay for you to call me Allie."

"Auntie Allie, where's Auntie Cammie?" She ignored me.

"I don't know sweetie," I sighed, "and call me Allie."

"Auntie Allie, are you going to die without Auntie Cammie?" she asked in a tiny voice.

I threw off my arm and sat up rapidly. I looked over at the girl who was the size of a twelve year old but was really three. She seemed smaller and more innocent than I had ever seen her. She almost always seemed to be mature and level headed but now she was a toddler who was scared for her family. I sighed quietly and opened my arms. She quickly scrambled onto my lap and I held her close.

"Now why would you think that?" I asked softly.

"Upstairs you weren't moving and Uncle Paul said that you were going to die without your sister because you guys share a brain."

"He said we share a brain?" I giggled despite the insult.

"Uh- huh," She nodded, "and that Auntie Cammie has more brain than you do so, without her you would become a veggie."

"Honey," I chuckled," Paul was just joking. Cam and I don't share a brain. We might look the same but, we're two different people, with two completely different brains." I explained to her with a small mile.

"So are you going to be okay?"

"You bet," I grinned.

"When's she going to come back?"

That wiped the grin off my face.

"I don't know kiddo. She might not come back for a while.," I frowned.

"Do you miss her?" She asked in a small voice.

"So much," I whispered in a quivering voice.

"I miss her too," She said snuggling further into my arms, "She promised to braid my hair for me after my arithmetic lesson."

"Arithmetic lesson? What are you studying?"

"Algebra."

"Your only three!"

"Three and a half!," she corrected vehemently, "I'm physically ten and three quarters."

"Well newsflash kid. By ten I was learning trigonometry," I smirked playfully.

Her jaw dropped comically and her eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"Really?" She asked awed.

"Sure did," I teased.

"I've got to go find my dad!," She hopped up and ran out of the room.

I laughed to myself and fell back on the couch. I snapped my eyes shut again and smiled to myself. I could feel my feet being lifted gently and placed in someone's lap as they sat down.

"Now you've done it," Jasper said with his slight southern accent, "She's never going to stop studying and drive Edward crazy."

"A bit of healthy competition never hurt anyone," I insisted.

"Except Edward's ears when she insists he teach her faster."

"Except his immortal ears," I agreed with a hint of a smile.

"ALLIE CALL!" Edward roared from within the house.


	14. Back to sixteen

Apov

"Allie? Allie? Allie?"

"Emmett would you shut up?" I snapped irritably.

"Did you find her yet?" He ignored me and continued to poke my side.

For the past few hours after Cam and Quil's disappearances I had been calling up old friends hoping that they had seen them. As long as I had been sitting on the Cullen's couch dialing, Emmett had been sitting by my side annoying the hell out of me.

"Rosalie!" I hollered over my shoulder.

In the split second that I had shouted ,Emmett's teasing expression melted into fear. Rosalie zoomed and grabbed Emmett's ear and yanked him up. She shot me an apologetic look and dragged him from the room.

Jacob and Leah came tumbling in and collapsed beside me in exhaustion. They had been running for nearly six hours.

"I told you to give it up," I stated calmly scrolling through the l's of my contacts.

"They might come back," Leah panted.

"They would still come back even if you two weren't running yourselves to death," I pointed out.

They both ignored me and Esme brought out a tray of water and sandwiches. They gratefully grabbed some food and ate quietly.

"Any luck, dear?" Esme asked sweetly as she gracefully lowered herself into a chair.

"Sadly, no," I replied meeting her warm caramel colored eyes, "No one I know has seen her."

"Maybe she's avoiding your connections on purpose," Jake concluded.

"Seems like it," I grumbled, "But, why would they?"

"They obviously don't want to be found right now," Leah sighed.

"I guess not if they're going to such lengths to avoid everyone that I know," I pondered.

Just then my phone started to vibrate and my eyes lit up hopefully. I snatched it off the table and answered it.

"Hello?" I asked hopefully.

"Allie honey?"

"Mrs. Alcott? I s everything okay at the house?" I asked nervously.

"Oh yes, dear," She replied sweetly, "It's just that I got your message about Cammie and I thought that you would want to know that I saw her yesterday morning."

"Yesterday morning?" I faltered, "Where?"

"Down at the beach," She answered, "I was going for my morning walk and I saw her talking to a large young man. They seemed to be arguing about something quite angrily. At first I thought it was you because she had died her hair in the red highlights you used to have."

"She did? Did you recognize the young man?"

"Well, yes , at first. He looked an awful lot like the young man you had come by with. Although, he did have darker eyes and his smile was a bit different."

"Did you get to speak to her?" I asked curiously.

"No honey," She said disappointedly, "I went to go say hello but, by the time I had walked over they had vanished."

"Vanished?"

"Oh yes!" She said excitedly, "It was almost as if into thin air! But Camilla had left an old folded up envelope in the sand beside her."

"An envelope? What was in it?" I asked hastily.

"Nothing," She shrugged, " Just a bit of sand and an old photo."

"Would you send me the picture," I asked steadily.

"Absolutely dear," She responded happily, "We'll speak soon."

"Soon," I agreed forcing my tone to be cheery.

I hung up and looked around at the faces surrounding me. Each one had shock and excitement etched clearly onto them. Leah gulped down some water and blinked slowly. Then, she leaned forward and pulled my laptop onto her own lap.

"She's posing to be me," I swallowed thickly.

"Why?" Jake questioned aloud.

"I have no idea," I shook my head, "Call up everyone and have them meet here at six this evening. I'm going to go home and grab a shower."

"Got it," Jake nodded, "You and Seth try to be on time, okay?"

"We always try," I smiled halfheartedly.

* * *

"Well?" Paul snorted, "Why I am here?"

"Someone hit him," I rolled my eyes not bothering to turn around. There was a dull thump followed by a muttered swear.

"Is everyone here?" Alice questioned flitting down the stairs with Jasper by her side.

"Almost, we're only waiting for Anna and Brady," Seth responded, "They're making the last patrols."

"Should we start without them?" Bella asked.

"I'm not starting without my beta," I said fiercely.

No one questioned me so I continued my steady pacing. Why the hell would Cam need to impersonate me? Least of all hide from all our connections?

"Allie? Sweetheart?" Seth pleaded, "Would you sit down please? You're making me dizzy?"

"And would you please calm your thoughts?" Edward added thickly, "You're giving me a headache."

"And would you at least try to remain calm?," Jasper snapped tensely, "I can't keep still."

"I'm sorry," I said irritably throwing my hands up, "She 's driving me insane."

"At least stop tapping your foot," Embry said glancing down at my rapidly tapping foot.

"Ugh," I groaned. Seth reached out and pulled me quickly into his lap.

"Calm down," He soothed quietly.

"I'm trying," I scrunched my eyes shut.

"We're here!," Brady announced. My eyes snapped open and I leapt to my feet.

"Where the hell have you been?" I demanded of the pair of them.

"Sorry, we were-" Anna started.

"I know where you were," I cut her off and glanced down at their intertwined hands.

She blushed deep crimson and started to pull her hand away but, Brady held her tight and pulled her to his chest. He winked at me and sat down with Anna in his lap on the tiny armchair. Seth sniffed and looked away pointedly.

"Can we get started now?" I demanded impatiently.

"Calm down," Leah insisted.

"Allie just tell the story," Jake said lazily closing his eyes.

"A woman from Florida that knows both Cam and myself called to tell me that she had seen Cam yesterday morning. She was with a man we assume to be Quil and had died her hair to look like mine. Apparently she's posing to be me and when Mrs. Alcott recognized her as herself and not me, she vanished. She left an envelope with photograph inside and Mrs. Alcott promised to send it to me."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Jared questioned.

"I really don't think we can do anything," I admitted ruefully.

"Why can't we just go to Florida if she's there?" Bella asked.

"I'm not even sure if she's still there. We don't have enough information yet," I frowned thoughtfully.

"Allie? You have an email," Leah reported and handed me my laptop.

I sat down and read the incoming message. One email from Mrs. Alcott with an attachment. I clicked on it and loaded the picture.

The image was a dull grey. There were three girls caught in the picture. I immediately recognized my mother, Aunt Cora and, Aunt Carrie. They seemed no older than I am now. My mother appeared to be in the late stages of her pregnancy with myself and Cam. They were standing in front of Embry's house with Aunt Carrie holding baby Embry in her arms.

I studied the image looking for any small clues that I could have over looked. It seemed like a totally normal photo. I had no memory of it before so it must have been Cam's only copy.

"Embry, have you seen this photo before?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah," He shrugged over my shoulder, "Hundreds of times. It's one of the only photos that I have of all three of them. Why?"

"This picture is yours?" I demanded forcefully.

"Yes," he answered me slowly while giving me a curious look, "Why do you have it?"

"This is what Cam dropped on the beach," I said sharply, "Did you give it to her?"

"No," he answered crisply, "I didn't even know she knew it existed.'

"It looks totally normal," I huffed irately, "What the hell is she doing?"

"May I?" Carlisle asked.

"Sure," I handed him the computer.

"I think she's driving me crazy," I confessed and slid back in my chair.

"I'm sure she doesn't mean to," Esme insisted.

"I see it too," Edward murmured to Carlisle.

'See what?" Leah questioned.

"On the bottom right hand corner the picture is dated," Carlisle pointed out.

"So?" Paul snorted.

"The date is two years after Allie and Camilla should have been born," Edward announced.

"What? My mother is pregnant in that picture. She has to be in her third trimester," I said ludicrously.

'Yes, and Embry shouldn't be more than a year in this picture," Carlisle concluded.

"It's dated two years after you should have been born," Edward told me sternly.

"Are you positive that the woman in the picture is your mother?" Jasper inquired.

"Yes! We have hundreds of photos of her!" I cried.

"Maybe you have the dates mixed up," Alice offered.

"No," Edward said, "I've double checked."

'So, You guys are younger than you thought you were?" Brady asked.

"Ha!" Emmett laughed in my face.

"No! I just got to eighteen! I can't go back to sixteen!" I cried indignantly.

"I'm older than you," Seth teased in a sing song voice.

"Is it possible that Camilla could have known about this?" Carlisle.

"It's impossible," Embry said affirmatively, "I only found that photo a month ago."

"Where?" Jasper questioned.

"In my basement under some old furniture," He shrugged.

"Could it have been placed there?"

"No, it had to have been there for years. It was covered in dust and discolored when I found it."

"Could your Aunt Cora have told her?"

"Absolutely," I nodded before Embry could object.

"Why do you say that?" Edward arched an eyebrow at me.

"Cam was aunt Cora's favorite. She would have done anything for her," I scoffed.

"Did she ever say anything to you about her past?" Esme asked softly.

"She hated speaking about the past and so did Cam," I sighed, "Neither wanted to dredge it up and she resented me because I always asked questions."

"What did she say when you asked?" Jasper inquired.

"Always the same thing," I rolled my eyes indifferently, "How my mother and Aunt Carrie were sluts that deserved what they got and how she got stuck with a brat like me."

"She said that?" Embry flared.

I gave him a half smile and said sarcastically, "Only in public."

"Would she have told Cam things that she didn't tell you?" Jasper continued unfazed.

"She did it all the time," I huffed, "Aunt Cora liked that Cam never had enough of a backbone to ask questions when she was curious. She liked that Cam would sit back and wait for tiny slips of information that had been distorted and warped."

'Unlike you?"

"Unlike me," I smiled spitefully," She resented me because I asked when I wanted to know something and forced her to look back when it wasn't in her favor."

"What do you mean her favor?" Bella asked.

"Aunt Cora only told the stories that showed her in a good light," I explained, "That's why Cam idolized her and I looked down at her. She would portray herself as a kind and gentle savior. While, in reality, she was selfish and cold. When our mothers were raped, she stayed as far as possible until it was too late to help."

"Are you sure about that?" Bella asked nervously.

"positive," I nodded, "She only took us because she knew it would suit her well to have two orphaned children. It would repair her image to Aunt Carrie who now saw her the cow she was."

"How do you know that?" Edward asked suspiciously.

"Because while my sister was stuck under that bitch's arm, I was listening to another side of the story. Aunt Carrie never spoke a word against her twin but, I'm a very smart girl who can come to conclusions on her own," I snapped.

"Are you absolutely sure of that?"

"No," Camilla answered from the doorway, "She's wrong as usual."


	15. Allimilla Call

Chapter 15; Act 1; Scene 1; Murder in the Mansion; Allie POV

"Me wrong?" I snapped, "That's rich coming from the one that runs off without notice and leaves the rest of us here to piece together the mystery based on _facts._"

"Your wrong again Allie-Bear," She smirked snidely.

"Please prove your point you hateful little-"I snarled.

"Where the fuck have you two been?" Jake demanded jumping to his feet. His eyes bounced back and forth between the rain soaked Quil and Cam.

"Well," Quil started awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

Camilla certainly did change. Her hair wasn't the red highlighted mess that I had expected. No her hair was back to it's raven glory and looked no different than before but, I didn't buy it for a second. I had had plenty of practice disguising my hair to look it's natural color by vanishing certain strands. It had taken me quite a while to learn how to vanish individual strands but, it was possible. And if it was possible, she would learn to do it.

"Cut the crap and talk!," I hissed at Camilla under my breath.

"Did you tell them?" She muttered.

"Not yet," I threatened her lowly.

"Good," She muttered distractedly.

"Why don't I tell the story?" Camilla offered loudly cutting off Quil.

"So, I had a small mental breakdown and needed a quick release," She smiled brightly, "Quil and I just went off to the mountains for a short retreat. It would have been a lot more relaxing if my phone hadn't been going off all the time," She gave me a playful look.

When all she received was a tense silence, she looked around confused. Her expression in confusion but, carefully measured.

"Oh Cam," I said leaning down to whisper loudly in her ear knowing well that all could hear, "I told them everything the second you took off."

The expression on her face was pure gold. Her mouth dropped open comically and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Quil stood by her side shuffling from foot to foot as if preparing to run. My thoughts must have been correct because Edward and Emmett smoothly placed themselves in front of the door.

Camilla quickly recovered and asked sweetly, "Wh- what do you mean sister?"

"I told Sam and Embry and then everyone else. They know about the birth certificates hidden in _your _house and about running off to Florida," I smiled wickedly.

Her expression relaxed slightly in a way that unnerved me. She straightened her back and casually flicked her hair over her shoulder in a way that only I would do. She really had been in practicing being me.

"Okay you're right," Cam sighed, "I went back because I knew that the birth certificates were there. I hadn't seen them since mom passed away and I wanted to be sure before Allie told everyone."

I narrowed my eyes at her back and scowled. I was sure that everyone around us would instantly melt and believe her. It was her skill to lie so convincingly that I both resented and envied above all else. Surprisingly, when I looked around, each person had cold impassive eyes. Each one with a stern expression and disbelieving look. They knew she was lying. Edward confirmed my beliefs with a sharp nod.

"Oh, and Cammie?" I whispered loudly again.

'Yes, Allie honey?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"They know about pretending to be me and the photo," I smiled vindictively.

"What photo?" She smiled painfully.

"The one that proves Aunt Cora was a lying cow," I responded sweetly.

"How dare you talk about our mother like that you two faced little bitch!" Camilla hissed abandoning her innocent act and leaping to her feet to stand inches from me.

"That bitch wasn't our mother!" I snapped for the final time.

"I would rather have her than those other whores," She yelled at me.

"They were raped! It wasn't their fault that they had such an ungrateful bitch like you!"

"They got what they deserved!" she huffed.

"Deserved? How can you even say that without bursting into flames?"

"Aunt Cora said that they were always stealing the boys that she loved," Camilla cried angry tears forming in her eyes, "If they wanted men so badly they got them."

"Did Cora ever tell you about how she got Uncle Sean?" I scoffed.

"Aunt Carrie was being a skank so mom liberated him," She shrugged.

"Liberated him?" I laughed hollowly, "She tricked him into sleeping with her by pretending to be Aunt Carrie. Then, she pretended to be pregnant and forced him to marry her. The only reason she adopted us was because she knew Sean would leave her after her 'miscarriage'."

"That's not true," she whispered.

"Really? Then tell me the truth," I sneered at her.

"She knew Uncle Sean was unhappy with Carrie so, she helped him find real love!" She shouted at me.

"Well that worked out real well for her didn't it?" I hollered, "Alone in death and left with two kids she didn't want in the first place!"

"Mommy wanted me!" She cried the tears spilling over, "She wanted me! She loved me because I was a good girl! She hated you!"

"Because I had a spine and my own mind!" I shouted at her.

"Just because I knew when to ask questions doesn't mean I didn't have a spine!"

"It does when you can't ask questions about your own mother," I spat.

"She was my mother!" She cried the tears falling steadily, "Why don't you understand that!"

"Because you always stuck under her like some kind of disease! You never thought once that she was lying to you and never thought that maybe someone else had something else to say!"

"I never trusted Aunt Carrie." She spat ruefully.

"Because Cora told you that she was a horrible hag and you believed her because you're so pathetic that you can't form your own opinion!" I spat back at her.

"I. Am. Not. Pathetic." She said through her teeth and quivered slightly.

"Of course not" I agreed sarcastically, "You just never cut the umbilical cord from your cow of a surrogate mother!"

Camilla's jaw clenched shut and her eye twitched curiously. She curled her hands into fists and her frame quivered slightly as if she were going to phase. My own arms stood rigid at my sides as I trembled with anger. I carefully took a step back and focused on staying human. That selfish, spiteful, wretch! That lying, cheating, vain witch.

My hands shook uncontrollably as my resolve crumbled. I bolted to the door, shoving my way past Edward and Emmett and out into the pouring rain. The blood pounded in my ears as I ran, launched myself into the air and phased. The second my paws touched the ground, I propelled myself through the thicket of trees at full speed.

The dark rain clouds appeared sorrowfully black and heavy as they emptied buckets of rain onto the canopy of leaves. Lightening flashed and thunder clapped only adding to my angry mood. A bolt of lightening flashed on my left and it made me think immediately of Cam's quick, ever-changing place in my life recently. She had swung from a dependable, loving source to a destructive and secretive eyesore. The memory of her standing before me only moments ago frightened me. The burning hatred in her eyes and scorching words that left searing burns on my memory, shocked me beyond comparison. Not because I didn't expect her to say these things to me. It was because when I looked at her, I saw myself.

In her eyes, behind all of the hatred and cold fire, were a pair of golden brown eyes that matched mine perfectly. Underneath her hidden locks of red hair was the raven color that could be found on my head. Everything from her nose to the shape of her hands matched mine. Had I looked at her six months ago, I would never have been able to say that we were identical but, now she was me. It seemed like years ago that she had been her own person, Camilla Call. Today, when I looked at her, she wasn't anyone but, myself. It was like she was me without my name. We were one person and I hadn't never resented her more.

There was a distant howl, maybe three miles back. I slowed my pace slightly but, didn't stop. I howled slowly in return to indicate that I was fine. I couldn't tell who it was but, they didn't come looking for me again. I stopped and looked around where I now stood. I could recognize the small stream where I had explained the life of a wolf to Anna only two weeks ago. I pictured the sun beaming through the foliage in slanted rays around us as I demonstrated my gifts. Her excited face was washed out by the rain that ripped through the happy memory sharply. The small stream was flowing rapidly downhill. Another question poked at my sides. Why was Anna here? We had enough wolves for any threat. And if we didn't, what could be so great?

* * *

I paused a few yards from the mansion. Some one had carefully laid out a plastic bag with clothes in them. I picked it up and dressed quickly. They may have been dry at first but, by the time I ran the few short paces to the house I was soaked again. I looked to my shoulders and saw my hair instantly regrowing to its usual length. I halted it and vanished it so that it was just at the top of my ribcage.

The door flung open and Alice pulled me into a crushing hug. Her ice cold skin made me wince at first but, I hugged her back awkwardly.

'Where the hell have you been?" She demanded holding me at arms length.

"I went for a run," I answered in confusion.

"We thought..." She trailed off.

"That I would run like my bitchy twin?" I replied scathingly.

"We might look alike but, we're extremely different in personality," I said firmly more to myself than her.

"I know, I know," Alice assured me.

She gave me a fleeting smile and took my hand to lead me into the living room. Most were still there with the exception of Collin who still had a curfew despite being a thousand pound vampire slayer. The atmosphere of the room had shifted drastically since my last visit. Although the home still looked as warm and inviting as always, the people inside it appeared cold and unforgiving. Esmè had kindly set numerous dishes of snacks around the room but, they remained untouched. Most people seemed generally happy to see me. While others, Camilla and Quil, appeared to see this as terrible news.

I held my head high and deposited myself by Seth's side on the couch. He pulled me into his lap and kissed my cheek sweetly. We were seated at the end of one couch while on our right were Brady and Anna. Beside them were Sam, Jared and Paul. Leah had carefully inserted herself next to Embry on the floor. Camilla and Quil had been squished between Emmett and Paul. Rosalie was seated on Emmett's lap and Bella and Edward were just beside them. Jacob held Nessie in his lap as he spoke in hushed tones to Carlisle and Jasper. Alice returned to the room shooting me a smile and positioned herself in front of Jasper's knees.

Jake cleared his throat, "Now that Allie's back we can begin."

"Begin what?" I asked stupidly.

"Retelling what Camilla and Quil told us," Edward frowned.

"Yes," Carlisle mused thoughtfully, "You must help us see if this is true as Embry has no clue."

"I'll try," I said sourly.

"Camilla has produced a diary of your late aunt's that describes a particular plan to run off and abandon you," Edward explained, "She may not have really been dead but, instead very much alive and living in an undisclosed location. Camilla claims that she was merely attempting to find the truth in this situation. Her guise as you was to find more connections because no one would think twice about Allie Call asking strange questions. However, it was extremely uncharacteristic for Camilla Call. She wanted to see if Sam is your brother but, having failed she expected to return from clue hunting in Florida to an entirely unharmed environment, where she could live happily with her family.'

When he finished explaining there was a deathly still silence. No one faltered in their gazes directed among myself and my siblings.

"That sounds extremely plausible," I concluded rationally looking at Camilla. She looked shocked and happy.

"How long did it take you to spin that story?" I asked bluntly. There were a few sniggers at this.

"No less than an hour on the plane ride home," She said blandly.

"Why did you really go?" I asked staring at her with cold indifference.

"Because," She huffed, "I didn't want my new life to be marred by a past that I can't fix. I spent all my life trying to get away from all that shit but, you always had to bring it right up again."

"You really are Cora's daughter aren't you?" I smiled.

"And you Carrie's," She agreed sitting back with her arms crossed.

"Why take Quil with you?" I asked.

"Wouldn't you take Seth?" She asked raising an eyebrow in surprise.

I turned slightly to look at Seth's confused face. His dark brown eyes searched mine looking for any sign that could prove me injured or hurt in any way. I shook my head and looked back at her.

"No," I smiled, still shaking my head, "No I couldn't."

"Of course you wouldn't," She sighed, "Always do the unexpected."

"I guess you know that we can't live in the same town anymore right?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I figured," She shrugged impassively, "There are still a million places to go."

"Good luck wherever you go," I promised her earnestly.

She stood up much to the chagrin of the others around us. Quil immediately stood by her side and took her hand in his. They gave each other a long smile and she looked back at me.

"You still want to run from this place?" She asked me.

"It's funny," I sighed, "I wanted to go anywhere else when we first got here but, now I can't think of being anywhere else."

She smiled at me, "It's ironic that I never wanted to leave and now I do more than anything."

I stood up and hugged her tightly in my arms. She squeezed me back and we hung onto each other for what seemed like hours. Finally, I held her at arms length and examined her carefully in the way we had always done. She hadn't changed in our mere hours apart but, I was positive that we were nothing like each other apart from physical looks.

"Good luck sister," I wished her softly.

She carefully tucked a strand behind my ear and said softly, "Are you sure you won't come with me?"

"Positive, but drop me line every other century," I grinned.

"Alright," she sighed as if this were the most tedious task possible.

"I'll walk you out," Leah offered. She linked arms with Cam and shot me a quick wink on the way out.

"Allie-" Jake started as soon as the door swung shut.

"Hush," I quieted him and walked over to the window.

Leah stood just a few feet from the forest. She hugged them both tightly and probably wished them luck. Cam and Quil waved to me and then bolted into the forest. There was a remorseful howl and then silence. Leah started to walk back to the house and I turned away with a permanent smile on my face.

"Are you crazy?" Several demanded of me.

"Have you completely lost it?"

"You let them walk out of here alive!"

"Let it go," I rolled my eyes passively.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Embry shouted at me.

"Could you have killed Cam? Or Quil for that matter?" I asked him calmly.

"well...no," He shrugged.

"Would you rather have their blood on your hands or their freedom?"

"I-I, freedom, I guess," He muttered.

"You guess?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Whatever," He moped and slumped onto the couch.

"I can't make sense of your thoughts," Edward shook his head furiously, "Are you under the influence?"

"No," I laughed, "and just because you can read my thoughts doesn't mean that you'll understand them."

"Why did you let them go?" Anna asked quietly as the noise around us died down.

"She's my sister," I said simply, "I understand what she was feeling enough to know that her leaving for a century or two wouldn't necessarily be bad for our relationship."

"What about Quil?" Sam cried out.

"He went of his own will," I frowned, "He'll be missed sorely but, he went with his imprint and that's final."

"I can't believe this," Jasper shook his head, "You didn't even get any useful information about your family tree."

"I don't need my family tree," I said boldly, "I have all the family I need right here."

"Yeah, that's sweet and all Allie but, that doesn't change the fact that you let them walk out the door," Jake said gruffly.

There was an uproar at this. Seth slipped his arm around me and pulled my body tightly to his chest. He crushed his lips to mine for a brief second.

"I'm so proud of you," He whispered against my lips.

"Why?" I responded breathily.

"I was sure you were going to kill them but, you're protecting them." He smiled.

'Why would that make you proud?" I asked confused.

"You spared lives that could be worth the heartache in the future," He shrugged.

"I love you," I grinned foolishly.

"I love you too."

"Could you kiss each other later?" Alice demanded.

"I think Allie's right to have protected them," Seth announced valiantly.

"Of course you would agree with her!" Paul shouted.

"I still say that we rip them to shreds," Jared growled.

"Can I leave now?" I demanded.

"No!" Nearly everyone shouted.

"Get lost," Emmett winked at us and then started a long rant about the pros and cons and blah, blah, blah...

We didn't waste any time. I caught Edward's eye on the way out the door. He nodded at me curtly but, didn't speak. I took that as his way of telling me he understood my reasoning but, didn't agree. Seth and I ran to the edge of the forest and phased down.

"_Why wouldn't you have taken me with you?" Seth asked suddenly._

"_I wouldn't have dragged you through that," I shrugged, "I couldn't rip you from your life here."_

"_I would go anywhere with you," He said fiercely._

"_That's exactly why I wouldn't take you," I said morosely, "You wouldn't be able to give me up and would come not because you wanted to but, because you had to."_

"_You're looking at it the wrong way," He shook his massive head as we ran, "I want to go with you. I don't care what you were doing."_

"_I love you," I laughed._

"_I love you too," He smiled._


	16. Letters of Woe

Epilogue

Camilla was sitting on a warm beach. Her toes stretched out in the smooth white sand and her long dark hair falling in cool, wet ringlets. Quil was laying behind her, tugging on her dripping hair softly every so often. She sighed and readjusted the pad of paper in front of her. She frowned at the page and began to right with a serious expression on her face.

**July 12th, 2013**

**Dearest Allie,**

**It's been nearly a year since I last saw you or set foot in the United States. It's also been a year since we spoke. Quil and I have been touring Europe for the past six months but, are now currently on the small island of Martinique off the coast of South America. The island herself is beautiful with calm seas and velvety smooth sands.**

**In this past year I expect much has happened with you. Well, the laid back life I have been living hasn't been so laid back recently. Last night as Quil and I were watching the sunset, he asked me to marry him! I am engaged! We have yet to decide on a date and location but, I doubt it will be soon. You, of course, are my primary choice as a maid of honor. However, I would understand completely if you have reservations. Whether you would like to or not, I completely understand.**

**I want you to know that I truly love you sister. I hope that a century or two apart with strengthen our relationship further. Give my best to Seth and Anna.**

**All my Love,**

**Camilla Call (soon to be Atera)**

* * *

**December 23, 2016**

**Dear Cami,**

**Three long years have past since our last effort at correspondence (omit your change of address cards). I'm still waiting for the card that says when you have finally picked a date for your wedding. Hopefully, it comes before the end of the decade.**

**In the years that have past we've missed much of each other's lives. This being a first and hopefully the last. Last year the Cullen's moved on to Alaska along with all of Jake's pack, not including Seth. That year Jared and Paul joined Sam as they stopped phasing to grow old with their imprints. Two new wolves followed Anna to replace them called Ryan and Kevin. Luckily, there were no girls but, I feel that some may follow. I believe that that Anna only phased to replace Sam because the fates knew well that Sam wouldn't be a wolf for much longer.**

**The Cullen's have taken up residence in the old Denali home as the Denali's moved to somewhere in France. Seth and I have stayed behind but, plan on moving by the start of February. Anna will be eighteen next week so, I am leaving her the house and Brady the Alpha position. Anna and Brady's romance is flourishing much to Seth's disdain. (They are never allowed behind a closed door without permission.)**

**Seth and I are moving to New Jersey where we will be attending Princeton University. After that, who knows? Although, all of the original clan will be meeting up in a small town in South Dakota some odd years from now. From what I hear, you are on the list of attendees.**

**Seth and I are heading out into the enormous world in less than a month now. Our life together is beginning and I couldn't be more excited. There have been a few slips about marriage from him lately. Can you believe it? Me married? I hope to see you soon dear sister.**

**All the Love Seth couldn't carry,**

**Allison Call ( maybe Clearwater?)**


End file.
